Getting used to things

Just starting day two with HanRui.  We went to the park last night.  Unfortunately there were lots of wild cats.   Not a good thing as she is afraid of them.  Look out Nala and Ellie!!  We will have to work on that at home.   

We don't think she has been out on the street much at all.  What an environment to have your first big street experiences!   I must say,  that for a visually impaired kid who hasn't been out in the world,  she sure walks with confidence, especially with Neela by her side. Or maybe she just has no idea what to be concerned about. 

We did find out one thing that was a surprise to us yesterday.   Her info said that she was in foster care for about 5 years.   This was not true.  She has actually been in orphanage care the entire time,  just at a different orphanage in Anhui province for those 5 years.   She came back here as the schools are better apparently.   Or maybe for the blind school.   

This is too bad as she has not had a chance to experience family life already.   Especially during those critical years of development.   We will definitely have work to do in overcoming her institutional life.  However, she seems to be a pretty resilient kid and overall very happy.   She also seems to catch things quickly and will probably learn fast.   

Right now she moves around fast though and goes from one thing to the next.   The TV and the iPad are big draws.  I guess she is like any other 21st century kid in that regard.   She is definitely interested in music and has her own little music player she had in the orphanage.   I think she will be hanging out at our piano a lot when we get home. I am glad we have that! 

In about an hour we head out to do the official paperwork to make the adoption final.  Not sure what is after that for today.   In a lot of ways I'd like to just take her home and start there,  but is probably nice for her to have a little transition time.  

She is comfortable  in the hotel room now,  but she seemed a little unsure in the breakfast room after a while.   She looked closely at all the food and chose some.  She really likes fruit. But it was probably hard sitting at the table as we talked.  It feels odd to be talking about someone who is at the table who has no idea you are talking about them.  Neela had a lot of questions though and we were hashing them out. 

We are walking uncharted territory here - at least for us.   It is a different road than Neela's. We'll find our way though. 

Marnie