Day 7 Transitioning

We traveled from Guiyang to Kaili City by mini bus. Kaili City is where Kai lived for the last five years.  The trip took about 2 1/2 hrs. First we went to the orphanage near Kaili City.  Kai only lived there a few days before going to Miriam's house, but he was familiar with it as Miriam taught English there to the older children and Kai would go with her.  When we arrived, we were told that we would not be allowed to go inside because the staff didn't want us to be sad about what we saw.  I was a little  bit frustrated because I wanted to say, "Let us be advocates for these kids!  What is wrong with being sad about something that IS a sad reality?"  I didn't voice my opinion because I didn't want to create a problem and wanted to stay on good terms with orphanage. I'm sure in their minds they had a good reason but we're not able to communicate it or didn't want us to know their reasoning.

We were able to salvage our trip by calling Miriam to see if she could meet us for lunch. Of course our guide got clearance to do this from the powers that be.  We considered the risk it would be to have Kai see Miriam again and the confusion that this might bring, but we decided that it would be worth it since we had traveled so far and Kai seemed to be doing well with us.  Twenty minutes later, Miriam pulled up in her van.  When Kai saw Miriam, we were all surprised by his reaction.  He grimaced and waved his hands toward her in a way that said, 'No, I don't want to go with you!'  Then he pointed to each of us and smiled.  He signed "father," "mother," "dog," and "airplane."  This was difficult to watch while Miriam was standing right in front of us, but this was a good sign that Kai is beginning to connect with us.  Even though this rejection probably hurt Miriam's feelings, she also thought this was a good sign.  Someday Kai will know and appreciate how Miriam served and dearly loved him.

Kai with his foster-mama.  What an amazing lady!