Summer Dew

Today is officially XiaLu Day! We woke up to rain today but that didn't dampen Xia Lu's excitement. We were off to her orphanage at 8:30 am and by 9:15 we were there. The roads and the buildings all around have changed but the orphanage was still the same as 9 years ago when I first visited. And guess what, this Social Welfare Institute is being rebuilt and will be finished by 2012. The Director came and met us at the door. She was instantly aware of Xia Lu's warm and outgoing personality. We were told that Xia Lu means "Summer Dew" in Mandarin. What a beautiful name for our girl!

We were escorted to a meeting room and Xia Lu was treated like a VIP as she received a beautiful gift from the Director.

Then it was off to meet the children and tour the orphanage. The first stop was a preschool class of young children. Boy, did we have fun as it was circle time. The whole family joined in and the children quickly warmed up to us.

Xia Lu handed out some gifts and the children went crazy. It was funny to watch as some hoarded and fought over the new toys. It was a very busy 1/2 hour.

Then it was off to the next classroom. All the children were older and things were much calmer. Again the gifts were handed out and the children played together, trying to make a puzzle or learning to do up a button or zipper. The teachers commented that a little boy that Xia Lu was playing with had never been so happy. Xia Lu can charm the socks off anybody!
We then moved on to visit the youngest children in the orphanage. They still live in the same area of the orphanage that Xia Lu lived in. The children were in 3 different playrooms and Xia Lu was the only one who could go in and play. It was clear to us that many of the children at the orphanage had some pretty major special needs to contend with for the rest of their lives.

As tradition goes we were invited to lunch and Xia Lu got to sit with our tour guide and the director. She was glad to share everything about her life in Canada including school, Girl Guides and writing her Chinese name. Everyone was convinced that Xia Lu would one day be a social worker.

Hefei, Xia Lu's hometown, has grown from 2 million to over 4 million in just 10 years. After searching for her finding spot it was discovered that the street name had been changed and is now known as Hechao Lu. The restaurant is gone but we walked the street and went to a very old market.

Everywhere we went we noticed young children and ladies with beautiful and similar facial features as Xia Lu and in her mind I think she has found one of the important pieces of her identity that was missing. She is a "Hefei Girl" as some people on the street stopped to ask us. Xia Lu seems very content and happy with her day. My heart fills with joy and happiness for her.