Day 7: Trip to Luoyang

We headed out to Luoyang today. This is the city where Maria was found and where the orphanage is located. She lived in this orphanage from about 1 month old until about 3.5 years old (February 2009). We had mixed emotions about this trip but really wanted to see the town she was from and to get photos of it. (See the photo link for shots from the day)

The drive up there is about 2.5 hours, 1 hour of which is just getting to the other side of Zhengzhou. Luoyang is about 6 million people and covers a rather large area. The roads were excellent and our driver was excellent but aggressive but that is how they drive.

When we arrived in town we drove directly to the orphanage. When we got there all 3 girls needed to go to the rest room and we ended up going into the orphanage for them to go. (side note today was totally squatty potties If you want to know more about these send me an email.) Maria saw the director that had brought her to us and wanted to go to her. This confused her and she was scared and uncertain about what was going on. She had a major melt down. She did not want us but went to Rita our guide. She loves Rita and prefers her over us at times. It was so hard to see Maria so upset but it did give us the chance to tell her that we will always be her parents and that we will never leave her.

After a few minutes Maria calmed down and was back friendly with us. We drove to a porcelain shop to look for some gifts. Luoyang is famous for their porcelain work. We found some neat things there at good prices. After we left there Maria told Rita that Mommy and Daddy bought her things and that we were OK and she liked us.

We went to a local restaurant and Rita took charge of ordering. I must say that this was likely the best Chinese meal I have ever eaten. We had noodles, rice, mushrooms, beef, dumplings, etc. The flavors were out of this world. We both love Chinese food and both Robin and Forrest agreed that this was a wonderful meal. 7 of us had a wonderful meal for less than $30 US dollars.

After lunch we went to a local park and walked around. Then it was time to head back to Zhengzhou. On the ride back Maria wanted to stand in the middle to be near Rita. She also is very bad about sternly saying Bo Yao (No and I mean it) I threatened to rename her Maria Bo Yao. We kept trying to get her to sit down. Disclaimer vehicles here do not have seat belts and car seats are not used at all so kids stand or just sit in the car. In any case we needed to establish that she has to mind us. We finally had to take her and hold her, she did not like it but in a few minutes settled down and fell asleep. We kept comforting her telling her in Chinese that we will always be her mommy and daddy and that we love her. When we got back to the hotel she woke up and was a new child, she had a great evening and has been so happy. The only other issue with her is she hates bath time and brushing her teeth but we know this will correct itself in a few days.

The other good news is that Shiyan really had a good day and is doing great with Maria and with us.

We are so thankful to have her as our daughter and believe that she will fit right in with our family.