A Visit to The Orphanage

Tonights post will have to be short and sweet. Ty got us up at 6am today and we haven't stopped since. Today we did two important things - one, visited the orphanage where Ty grew up the first four years of his life and two, went shopping at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart won.

We actually went to Wal-Mart first and our guide made the mistake of telling Melis and Mom that they had plenty of time - he may be married but he isn't very savvy when it comes to the fairer gender. Telling those two that they had plenty of time in a place like Wal-Mart is like handing them a blank check. After just a few minutes of watching them dart from books to electronics to toys to DVD's to luggage and his eyes started to glaze over. And then he began to hurry them along! Big Mistake. Don't hurry the West women when there is bargan shopping to be done - especially after you've already made the mistake of telling them not to hurry. We got a suitcase for Ty's new stuff and filled it with all kinds of books and toys. There was one toy aisle - that's all, but it had all the stuff we needed to keep Ty busy for at least one more afternoon. The biggest hit by far were the stacking cups (thanks again Ash) that we couldn't find anywhere stateside. Little dude LOVES them. They went everywhere with us today including the hotel pool and the bathtub. We also picked up some candy and toys for the orphanage. We also got a copy of Mulan in Mandarin for $1.50. Can't top that!

We then took Ty back to see the orphanage and it went well. Let me clarifiy that - it was a mortifying experience for Ty but that's a good thing in the long run. He got real quiet the moment we rolled up the long driveway to his old home. He made sounds of recognizing where we were. He got sullen and pouty as we got out of the car and by the time we made it upstairs to the hall where his bedroom was he was pretty terrified. When he actually saw his old empty bed (crib actually) in a room full of other kids in their own cribs, he went balistic. He was truly upset to be back there and was terrified that we would leave him. We were able to comfort him but he never truly perked up until we got back to the hotel and he knew were keeping him. I knew it is tradition for us to visit his old home and give gifts to his caregivers but I was uneasy going into the meeting b/c he had done so well bonding to us that I didn't want anything messing with that. Well, it worked to the contrary - we are 100% sure Tyson would rather be with us. Melissa was crying, Tyson was crying (having crawled into her arms which is really something since he never lets us pick him up b/c he is Mr Independent) and I was sweating a lot so it kind of looked like I was crying (from every pore on my skin). It was actually very powerful to see how upset he got - it was a huge confirmation for all of us.

We finished the day with a quiet afternoon at the hotel and intoduced him to the hotel pool. It took a while but he eventually let us take him into the water and he had a blast. I think we will be revisting that pool everyday we have left here - he didn't want to get out for dinner. It was a great, low key afternoon and a nice conclusion to a somwhat chaotic day. Tomorrow is a trip to the zoo!