An Emotional Visit, A Taste of the Culture

Today was the day I've been waiting for.  Ever since we got Abby Kate, I've been wanting to see where she was abandoned.  Our guide took us to the hospital and let me get pictures of the outside and some of the inside.  I didn't realize that my camera was on manual focus, so some of my pics didn't come out well, but they are still priceless to me.  This hospital was incredibly packed with people and was very, very busy.  I wish I could have gotten some video footage, but I'm lucky to have gotten the pictures I did.  I asked our guide how Abby Kate could have been left without anyone noticing.  Once I saw the activity level, though, I realized it wouldn't be very hard.  Mary, our guide, said the mothers will bring the baby, lay them down, and then pretend to be doing something in their purse or whatever.  Then they just walk out.  There's honestly so much activity that it would be very easy to do that unnoticed.  As we got back in the van, the tears started to flow down my face.  I'm not even sure what emotion I was feeling.  It was just so overwhelming.  I was sad for Abby Kate, maybe knowing that someday she might have that feeling of being unwanted, but I was also feeling so grateful to have been given the gift of being her mother.  It was a very brief visit that I will never, ever forget. 

 

We were finally able to experience true culture here in Nanchang today.  For the last several days, it seems like we haven't done much more than a quick trip to a monument and then the rest of the hours in the hotel.  Today we got to go to a gorgeous park in the middle of the city called the People's Park.  I wish we'd known about it earlier.  We would've taken a cab the last couple of days to enjoy the park some more.  As we entered, we heard some wonderful Chinese music.  We went down a little trail to find a very old man playing a two-string fiddle.  There was another man singing with him and two more men clapping.  They finished just as we arrived, but our guide convinced them to play some more for us.  They were very happy to do so.  It was wonderful.  We then made our way to another part of the park where about 50 women were dancing with rhythm sticks.  Equally enjoyable to watch.  Abby Kate really liked the music and the motion.  She was quietly sitting in her stroller which was good progress.  She's finally letting me put her down some.  After walking around some more and watching some people doing Tai Chi, we found yet another group playing music and singing.  The same thing happened here.  We walked up at the end, but they sang another for us anyway.  Abby Kate really enjoyed her time at this one.  She actually stood beside me and walked around me holding onto me and to the stroller.  She can't walk on her own yet.  Her legs are still pretty wobbly. 

 
When we left the park, we headed to a small porcelain shop.  The Jiangxi province is known for their porcelain.  It is gorgeous to see.  We bought a beautiful tea set for AK to have as a momento of her hometown.  I could've bought so much more.  As my mom can attest, I am a sucker for dishes! :)
 
Not wanting to eat in the hotel yet again, we had our guide take us to an Italian restaurant for lunch.  Cafe Roma.  Oh. My. Goodness.  It was divine.  The guide ate somewhere else because she said this place was too expensive, but it really was cheaper than the US.  And SOOOO good!  I didn't even eat dinner last night because I was so tired of hotel food, so this was really a wonderful treat.  If it hadn't been so far from our hotel, I'm sure we would've gone back tonight for dinner.
 
Tomorrow we head to Guangzhou--the last leg of our trip.  This is where we'll get her medical exam and her visa.  The biggest thing to be praying for right now still remains Abby Kate's health.  She is still running a low-grade fever every day.  Last night she developed a cough (I'm assuming from the drainage she's had).  She coughed all night.  She's really not acting puny, but it would be nice for her to be better.  So please be praying for healing for her.  Thank you for coming alongside us with your prayers.  We feel them even halfway around the world!