Gotcha Day !

We left for Tianjin around 9:30 and after a two hour bus ride and a closed exit, we finally made it to Ai Ai. We were rushed into a very small room to put our bags down. We were lead out into a dark hallway and there she was. Needless to say, it was nothing like I thought it would be. The people were very nice, but they showed little emotion. They just nudged her toward us and she just stood there looking at us. The girls hugged her and I knelt down and looked at her eyes wondering.....Who is this little girl....tell me something... anything that will make this transition easier for you. She was scared. It was akward. They introduced us to her one by one. Then in all the akwardness, the caretaker said, "She can dance, too!" Ai Ai did not want to dance, but the caretaker took her hand and they started to do the cha cha cha. After that, the orphanage director wanted us to get our bags out of her office and leave. I wondered how they felt seeing Ai Ai leave. She has been there for so long (4 years). Ai Ai's teacher was very sweet. She spoke a little English to us and she seemed to be comforting Ai Ai . She did not cry. There was no hugging, no waving good-bye...nothing that I noticed. We all walked back to the bus and went to McDonalds. I never imagined I would be going to Mc Donalds right after I met her, but it did break the ice. She had a great time with Sophia and Chloe. They were laughing and smiling. We ate a spicey chicken sandwich and I was in a daze. I can't put into words how emotional I felt, but there was no where for the emotions to go. Later, we went to a clothing street and food street. It was very interesting with many little shops side by side. We haggled down the prices and made people mad because we were so cheap! You go Sue (my mother-in-law) She could hold her own on the price wars! Tony goes into the shopping experience with his guns drawn and ready. He starts at the lowest price and holds tight. They get very mad at him. He is speaking Chinese so well. Ai Ai has a special liking to him because they can communicate. We met with Robert M for a great Chinese dinner. He is our contact from Ai Ai's orphanage. He is from Mississippi! Robert has been very helpful in understanding the Chinese way. It was very nice to eat with him and we were able to ask him many questions about life in the orphanage. Today we go back to the orphanage for a ceremony of some sort. This morning Ai Ai had a bath and she put on her new clothes. She seems to be adjusting pretty good. She smiles a lot like Josie! They seem a lot alike. Aimee