Why do people watch us?

Today was easier than yesterday, in that we did not have any appointments to go to…well, actually we did, but our coordinator May was able to do this one on her own, and did not need us to come. (Thank you!)

We went to a shopping mall with May a bit later, and Kate was in the front pack. She does pretty well in it, and actually fell asleep for quite a while as we walked. It is almost comical how much attention we draw. I started laughing to Kevin as we were headed for the escalator, because each person we walked past would stop what they were doing and look at us, even before they saw Kate, then they would stare even more. It seemed kind of funny, that we were that interesting.

I asked May why people stare at me (they stare at Kevin, but not as much) and she said “It is because you are so beautiful” I roll my eyes and Kevin is cracking up, with a ‘good answer’ remark. “Okay, let’s try this again…May, why do people find me so interesting and stare at me?” You are very tall and slender and do not look like a Chinese woman. I think they have question in their mind about you. I later asked her what they thought when they see Kevin and I, an American couple, with a special-needs Chinese baby. She answered, “Many people do not know about adoption, or surgery for baby. They wonder when they see you…do you live here? Why do you have Chinese baby? Most people do not know about international adoption.” While in the police station, someone had quietly asked Liqing (the orphanage asst. director) about us and she told them “They are adopting the baby and will take her back to America and bring her up. There, they will get the surgery for her.” She said the person replied,”That is good for baby. She is very lucky, because America is developed country and medical care and surgery is very good there.” It surprises me to know that most people here do not know about International adoption, and that we would be such an anomaly.

Kate did better today. Still some unexplained crying, and mild…anger, I guess you would call it (like how kids get testy when they need a nap) but she slept in the pack on my chest for quite a while, and took a good nap later in the day. The only thing that is hard is that she wants to be held chest to chest with her head on your right shoulder only…so by the end of the day, you’re kind of bent to one side, and she is discontented if you put her down on the floor or bed. Just pick me up and hold me close…that’s all. I know she was not held constantly in the orphanage, so I have some questions!

Tomorrow we will take a cab to her SWI (social welfare institute), and I hope to find out more about her and her schedule. I’m a little bit nervous about bringing her, and how she will be…it may be a short visit! :) I would like to have some information to give her when she is older, though.

Last night we went to the mall here, which is attached to the hotel, and I had Subway! (Aaahh…a plain sandwich with nothing interesting on it…I loved every bite :) Kevin’s dinner was a bit more “ethnic”. As we left, Kevin held Kate, ya know, on the right shoulder, and I was walking behind her and got the best smiles. She looked comfortable and happy.

Oh, and two discoveries about Kate – they told me she drinks bottles of milk, and has warm cereal, and maybe some fruit. The question should have been, what doesn’t she eat. She will eat anything you put in front of her. The challenge is to not give her too many things in case she has an allergy, or something doesn’t agree with her…Kate’s not worried though…if it’s edible or in a crinkly bag, she would like some please. And Cheerios? Love, love, love ‘em!!

The other is that she does have a Mongolian spot. I wondered about that. (Mongolian spots are birthmarks of bluish color that are extremely common on children of color. Something like 95% of Black and Asian children have them…they may be the size of the head of a pin, or very large and can look somewhat like bruises.) It’s happened that people have temporarily had their children removed from their care because they can be mistaken for bruises, and are usually located on the lower back and rear end. They are typically faded by 2 yrs. of age. Kate’s are very faint, but cover a large part of her back. It kind of looks like if you get ink or bluish paint on your hand and a couple days later can still see it.

Thank you to those of you who emailed us with support after Kate’s tough day. It meant a lot and was very helpful. We really appreciated it. Kevin and I are lucky to have such good friends.
P.S. Don't forget if you double-click on a picture, it will enlarge it. Then you can just hit the 'back' arrow. :)