Howdy ya'll!
I'm
sorry for keeping ya'll waiting. I would like to tell you some more about my
adventures.
Well, late September to early October, our
family went to Guangzhou, (gwongjo). Actually, that's the capital of the
province. The province name is Guangdong, (gwongdong). That is where I was born
and lived in the orphanage. Our family rode on another train that took a longer
time to get there. It was probably around eighteen to twenty-four hours. I will
tell you later more about that.
We
arrived in Guangzhou and ate lunch at a MacDonald's. It took us a while to get
more tickets for the coming back to our province and then ate lunch and
finally, we got on a double decker bus. It was a pretty good smooth ride
compared to some rides we’ve experienced in the past where we lived.
We
arrived in the town we were going to. That town is called Meizhou (Mayjo). This
place has my orphanage. It was interesting that we stopped at a gas station to
get gas for the bus. I remember there was an argument at the time and a lot of
people got off from there. They didn't like stopping first at the gas station.
We weren't in a rush. So, after that, we got off the bus and some friends of
ours and some of their friends came to help. They had gotten us a nice room.
This
room looked like a house to me. It had a living area, one bathroom, and a
bedroom like area. They also got us an extra bed. Wow! What a hard bed! I'm
glad I didn't sleep there! Anyway, we got settled down.
The
next morning, a student from a college in that town came to babysit my two
sisters. I went with my parents and our friends to see the orphanage and it was
quite an experience! We got to meet the head person for the caretakers. We met
some other guy. This person was some sort of director. We sat and drank tea,
talked, and even got a chance to see my Chinese profile. The director gave us
the negatives of the pictures. There were some pics that my parents hadn't even
seen before. My dad took pictures with his camera. It's kinda funny that Dad
took pictures of pictures we had, at least I think he did.
After
this, we went outside of a building that I am guessing where the caretakers
were working then. They all came out and started to shout out my name! They
sounded like they said my name differently than I do. Anyhow, they tried asking
me questions and they surrounded me. There seemed to be a bunch of them. At one
point, one of them picked me up. It was quite a sight! They hadn't seen me in
person since I was adopted. So, they were really excited and happy to see me!
Next,
we went inside and looked a little bit around the room I stayed in and the
connecting one, too. I suppose I lived in the second one. They took out my
wooden bed and put in metal beds. They took out all, I should say, of the
wooden beds. Mine was included. I had remembered correctly that I had used a
wooden bed. My memories are blurry.
Dad
and I got to hold a few of the kids or babies. There are people that are still
there today from when I left. About a couple of them remembered me and said so.
There was a 14 year old person that looked like a baby. He was in a crib. I was
so surprised that he was a 14 year old. If they hadn't said anything, we might’ve
thought he was a baby. They didn't seem to have much fat on them. I could feel
them. That part I didn't like. I held a baby and she was nice. She was a cute
little one.
The
caretakers gave us some fruit to eat. It's called pommelo (palmallow). It is
like a grapefruit but huge. They have thick skin on the outside.
We
got to go in one of their offices. We drank tea and talked. I think it was that
day when I got some candy from the storage room. I didn't remember some things
were in a different spot. Of course they could have moved stuff around. I'm not
sure, though. Somehow, I either asked what this room was or I just remembered
it. I got to go in the storage room. I remember getting stuff from the storage
room. It's funny how you remember something that isn't that important. I
suppose I liked getting treats while I lived in this orphanage. I'm sure glad
that I got good treatment! They took care of me.
My
parents and I went to someone's house and ate lunch with them. They had some
Chinese students eating there with them. The husband at that house works very hard
to help with the children in the orphanage. He used to carry kids up and down
the stairs to get them outside. Whoa! That's quite something! Don't you think
so? Now, they have an elevator in that building. They also have a ramp built in
one of the buildings. Let me describe it to you. This place has three
buildings: one for the elderly, one for the adults, and one for the children. I
was in the one for the children, of course. Anyhow, this guy works here.
After
lunch, my sisters and I got to play with their dog, while the others talked. We
came out at one point. My parents shared information with the students that
were there at this house. Finally, we went on and went to a leprosy colony
place. We heard a speech and sang songs. I liked the singing part the best. The
speech was in their native language. Oh, yes! These elderly people, had some
sort of leprosy and aren't contagious anymore. The friends we were with gave the
elderly people some gifts. Then we left.
I better let this post be finished for now.
I'll tell ya'll more, hopefully.
I
hope you all are enjoying this blog.
