Our Thursday~
First, Wednesday night: We got to go to dinner with the interns, Stacy (an 18 year old orphan that lives here) and Leah, the assistant to Tim who has lived here for 2 years. She took us to Wal-Mart where we bought a few treats we could bring home to the kids, but mostly just looked at all the items they sold there. The most shocking event was when we walked by the fish department and a little girl about 3-4, pulled down her pants, squatted and peed onto the floor. She was probably hardly noticed, or given a second look by all the locals, however, it definitely caught our attention. In Chinese potty training, split-pants are used. They are pants that have a large slice in the bottom area so that they can just squat and take care of business wherever and whenever needed. We saw a little boy pee in the toy store, on the floor and the parents tried to clean it up, but mostly, it was just a puddle on the floor.
Anyway, after that little trip Leah took all 8 of us to a nice restaurant where we were taken into our own private room. Leah and a Chinese staff member ordered our food and we had probably 12 different dishes. Brian and I paid the bill that night, as money is tight for these girls (they have had to raise support) and the total bill for eight people and waters to drink, was 209 Yuan or RMB, which equals about $30.00 American! We had many new treats, most of which were unidentifiable to me, most I braved…it was an adventure! When we came back to PHF, there were three, tiny, puppies lying next to the entry of the Inn. It is an ongoing joke that the Speech Therapist, Carrie, has taken in many baby animals, orphans if you will, and nursed them to health…or in one case, the kitten didn’t quite make it. They were obviously brand new babies and we later found out by the gate guards that they nannies had chased away the mother. The girls brought Carrie down and she, having the tender heart she has, scooped them up, fed them from a preemie bottle and nestled them into a bucket for the night. It’s only appropriate that an orphanage for children would have orphaned puppies and kitties as well!
On to today~ We got up and met with Dr. Moody who helps with the physical needs of the children. We made his morning rounds with him and caught some moments in photos. It is a sunny day again today, so the temperature is overwhelmingly hot and sticky. Within moments outside, we were dripping with sweat and then we had to go into buildings with no air-conditioning and stagnate air, our pours opened up and were literally raining sweat!
We are winding down here, we need to get bath and bedtime photos, but we have to eat dinner off the property, so we are in a dilemma as to how to be in two places at once? We may be able to get massages after shooting the kitchen crew making lunch, and before our afternoon session with the older boys that are staying in the same building as us, as they have school until around 2:30.
Our group should be landing at about this time, so hopefully they are getting home safe and sound. TTFN, Gretchen & Brian, from Langfang, CN
First, Wednesday night: We got to go to dinner with the interns, Stacy (an 18 year old orphan that lives here) and Leah, the assistant to Tim who has lived here for 2 years. She took us to Wal-Mart where we bought a few treats we could bring home to the kids, but mostly just looked at all the items they sold there. The most shocking event was when we walked by the fish department and a little girl about 3-4, pulled down her pants, squatted and peed onto the floor. She was probably hardly noticed, or given a second look by all the locals, however, it definitely caught our attention. In Chinese potty training, split-pants are used. They are pants that have a large slice in the bottom area so that they can just squat and take care of business wherever and whenever needed. We saw a little boy pee in the toy store, on the floor and the parents tried to clean it up, but mostly, it was just a puddle on the floor.
Anyway, after that little trip Leah took all 8 of us to a nice restaurant where we were taken into our own private room. Leah and a Chinese staff member ordered our food and we had probably 12 different dishes. Brian and I paid the bill that night, as money is tight for these girls (they have had to raise support) and the total bill for eight people and waters to drink, was 209 Yuan or RMB, which equals about $30.00 American! We had many new treats, most of which were unidentifiable to me, most I braved…it was an adventure! When we came back to PHF, there were three, tiny, puppies lying next to the entry of the Inn. It is an ongoing joke that the Speech Therapist, Carrie, has taken in many baby animals, orphans if you will, and nursed them to health…or in one case, the kitten didn’t quite make it. They were obviously brand new babies and we later found out by the gate guards that they nannies had chased away the mother. The girls brought Carrie down and she, having the tender heart she has, scooped them up, fed them from a preemie bottle and nestled them into a bucket for the night. It’s only appropriate that an orphanage for children would have orphaned puppies and kitties as well!
On to today~ We got up and met with Dr. Moody who helps with the physical needs of the children. We made his morning rounds with him and caught some moments in photos. It is a sunny day again today, so the temperature is overwhelmingly hot and sticky. Within moments outside, we were dripping with sweat and then we had to go into buildings with no air-conditioning and stagnate air, our pours opened up and were literally raining sweat!
We are winding down here, we need to get bath and bedtime photos, but we have to eat dinner off the property, so we are in a dilemma as to how to be in two places at once? We may be able to get massages after shooting the kitchen crew making lunch, and before our afternoon session with the older boys that are staying in the same building as us, as they have school until around 2:30.
Our group should be landing at about this time, so hopefully they are getting home safe and sound. TTFN, Gretchen & Brian, from Langfang, CN
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