Lilly's Adoption Day Part I

September 4 was a looooong day. It started at 4am when we got dressed for the van that was scheduled to be there at 5:15am. Eli woke up and wanted to hang out with us while we got dressed. We were picked up from the hotel by Ninh at 4:45am (1/2 hour earlier than planned). Eli wanted to come with us, and he screamed and cried when we left. Chloe tells us he was fine two minutes after we left. We were relieved to hear that.

We arrived at the airport 45 minutes later. We took Vietnam Airlines to Danang. Ninh, our facilitator, had a minor scare when he could not find Adam's airline ticket. All was well, and Adam and I arrived in Danang and collected our luggage. We all piled into a van from the airport at about 8am. We took another 1/2 hour van ride to Sandy Beach Resort in Danang. We were asked to check into our room, and reassemble to travel to the orphanage at 1pm.

Journey to Tam Ky:
We set off at 1pm with five other families for a "45" minute trip to the orphanage. Well, they said it would be 45 minutes to the orphanage, but it was an hour and a half. Our van shared the dirt road with other motrists, and off to the side we passed chickens, cows, and dogs. Finally we arrived in Tam Ky at almost 2:30pm, and I felt both excited and nervous. When I looked at Adam, clearly we felt the same way. I observed and photographed the gate where Lilly Tai was found when she was a newborn (as documented in her paperwork). The documentation states that she was carefully dressed and bundled in a blanket, and she still had her umbilical cord. We all walked into the adoption agency while photographing and observing our surroundings. There was no air conditioning, and it was very hot. There was a small indoor playground with a few young boys between about 3 and 5 years old. We were escorted into an office with a table and chairs (with some exotic looking fruit called dragon fruit and bottled water on the tables). Pho, Ninh's assistant, told his it wouldn't be long now, and the Director of the Orphanage wanted to meet us. The director was a slim woman, and she seemed strict. Some care givers popped their heads in the door, and they seemed very warm and friendly, but they spoke no English and quickly left. All of us had our cameras and video cameras queued up, as we realized the babies were about to be escorted in by the caregivers. We all looked at each other with nervous excitement.

More to come, the best part will have to wait as it has been a very long two days, and both Lilly and Eli are sleeping at last so I (Pam) will have to continue Lilly's Adoption Day Post and Pictures tomorrow. Adam is off to zzzz land, so I am going to go join him since the kids are sleeping too.