Saying Good-bye to Nanjing

We've just returned from wonderful authentic Chinese dinner. When we visited Sarah's orphanage on Tuesday the director asked us if we would join her for dinner on Thursday. When we arrived at the restaurant tonight we were greeted not only by the orphanage director but by five other staff members as well including Sarah's favorite nanny. The restaurant was simply gorgeous and had private rooms for each party. In the middle of the table was a large round serving "Susan" full of various kinds of meats, sauces and vegetables. We were each given a glass of wine and our choice of fresh squeezed juice (watermelon or orange). Then, the dishes started arriving and didn't stop until at least 10 different courses were served. We started with soup and went on to all kinds of meats and vegetables and ended with fresh watermelon, cantaloupe and grape tomatoes. During the dinner, there were about 8 different times that toasts were given and most of the time Sarah was the special person being toasted.

After dinner we commented to our guide about how much food there had been and he explained that in China when someone invites you to his/her home or to a restaurant, they wish to be able to provide more food than the guest can eat. By being able to do this, the host is being gracious and doing all that they can for the guest. We certainly had more food than any of us could eat and were very grateful for the delightful opportunity to experience such hospitality and kindness. We can tell how much Sarah is loved by all these people and how much they are going to miss her. The director even explained to her during the dinner how to prepare some authentic Chinese food for us once we all get home. At the end of dinner, the director explained that Sarah is a daughter of Nanjing and now as her parents we will always been a part of Nanjing as well and they hope we can return soon for a visit to "our home in Nanjing."

The orphanage director explained to us that Sarah had been given the choice to remain in the orphanage or they would try to find a family for her. She chose to have a family outside the orphanage. Due to her age, she had to write an application regarding why she wanted to be adopted and what she envisioned her life being. Then the orphanage worked on her papers and submitted her file to the CCAA. The director asked us why we wanted to adopt an older child and we explained that when we read her file that we could tell she had great spirit and a kind heart and we just knew that she was meant to be our daughter. The director asked Sarah what she thinks she will like to do when she comes to the US and she said she would like to learn to paint and draw so that she can be a designer.

The taxi ride to the restaurant was 10 yuan (about $1.50 US for a 15 minute ride), but on the way home the fare was 12 yuan. Kevin kidded that the extra weight in the taxi after the large meal was the difference in why we were charged more for the ride back!

Sarah really seemed to enjoy seeing everyone She is now watching tv -- funny enough, she picked "The Dukes of Hazzard" so I think she and her cousin Ai will get along real well!

Tomorrow we say good-bye to Nanjing and head to our final destination in China. We will be in Guangzhou for 4 days and then fly home next Wednesday. We have really enjoyed China -- I must say more than I thought I would when I envisioned the trip. We have the language barrier to get through, but know everything will work out. Sarah has been using her new translator quite a bit and is starting to use new English words.

Here are a few photos from our trip to the park today and from her good-bye dinner.