Day Five - Shenyang orphanage

Today we had our first rainy day in China. It was only small sprinkles though and then it cleared up so it reminded me of home, but the kids I'm meeting are gradually making me not want to come home without them. 

I had the opportunity to work with the kids 1-3 years old. I was in one classroom with five kids; all boys and one girl. Most of them warmed up to me immediately, but the one little girl took a while. 

There weren't many restrictions on what we could do with the kids and the nannies were super friendly, so we all just ended up playing together. It's amazing how the smallest things can light up a kids eyes and make them laugh; it's something as simple as blowing bubbles and popping them and picking them up and spinning them around. It was so rewarding to see them smile and laugh and jump into your arms. 

Sheng Tongde, Shen Ying Chao, and Shen Tonghou were my three little buddies I got close with today. It makes me happy to know that they are well taken care of. Shen Tongde and the little girl were foster siblings and Shen Ying Chao and Shen Tonghou were; I like the way they are all so close and I also like the way the nannies care for them as their own. 

After that part of the morning we went to lunch and ate a more normal meal. We ate rice, cucumber salad, and seaweed stuff. They offered fish, but I learned from yesterday not to take anything I knew I wasn't gong to eat. Once we finished eating we hung out in our room and played some games before it was time to go back into the rooms. 

When we were back with the kids we did the same thing as before except it was slightly easier since the kids were already warmed up to us. It's so funny how into selfies the kids are; I love taking pictures with them because whatever crazy face I make, they copy. 

Once all of the kids left, I rushed outside to look for Shen Jun Peng to say hello and when I saw him he ran up to me and jumped into my arms. 

It was probably the most amazing feeling ever to know that he remembered me and got that excited to see me. It's comforting to know that I am making a difference in these kids life even though it may not be some big thing, that hug was just enough. All together it was a pretty amazing day at the orphanage. I'm excited to see the older kids tomorrow! 

Once we got back to the hotel, Grace, Alexis, and I tried another local restaurant; the guy was really excited that we were eating there since we promised we would come back. We ended up eating dumplings, fried rice, fried tofu, and garlic sprouts and gave the leftovers to someone on the street. We didn't give it away because it was nasty, it was delicious, we just knew we wouldn't eat it but there was so much leftover. Then we walked around and looked in every store we could find for some Pocki but couldn't find the original flavors. After that we went to the hotel for reflections on the orphanage and had a really nice talk about being adopted. So even though it was a rainy day, it was still a very colorful, exciting day!