Falling Through Lost Time

>>Chapter 3<<

The next two weeks were busy with Jen and Peter packing their bags and getting anything they would need for the new child. They talked to their relatives and everyone supported them fully in their decision. There was so much to do but Jen and Peter were so ready to make the trip to China. The next week was busy with Jen trying to pack up a bag for Lynn and Jessie. Both girls would be staying with their aunt and uncle while Jen and Peter went to get their sister. After they had packed all the things they would need for their trip, they relaxed.

When the day came, the family got into their car and dropped Lynn and Jessie off at their aunt and uncle's then drove to the Phoenix Airport. They had to take two flights. The first was to Guangzhou. The flight would be around eighteen hours where they would meet with all the other American families adopting children through Holt at the White Swan, a beautiful hotel that hosted the International adoption program with Holt. They explored the city for two days and bonded with the other families before the program ended and the families were sent two their separate locations and cities where their new children were being adopted from.

The Bennet couple took another flight, this one to the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport which would take about four hours. After arriving at the airport, they needed to take an hour-long taxi ride to Fushun, the home of their new child.

While the couple explored China, they were quite the sight. Many people tried to take photos with them, thinking they were celebrities from America. Jen had blonde hair, so everyone thought she was famous. It was quite the experience for them, along with the fact that neither of them could speak any Mandarin other than thank you, please, and other essential phrases they learned for the trip. The couple got to Fushun on the fourth day and on the fifth, they went to see the orphanage where Zhāng Líng was living. With them, Holt sent a translator so that language would not be a barrier when they got to Fushun.

The man was short and thin, about 45 years old and had grey hair beginning to emerge from his sleek black hair cut short. He wore slacks and a formal white button-down shirt for the occasion. His name was Shou and he was very polite and quiet. He had been working as a translator since it was a popular job when you live in cities with lots of tourists. So many Americans were traveling to China they continuously needed more translators since Americans never tried learning any Mandarin before coming.

Shou had helped many American couples around the city and many of them were rude to the natives so he disliked them most of the time. Respect was high on his list of values. Holt had hired him to take another American couple to the city of Fushun. So far the Bennets had been fairly respectful so he was not having any problems so far.

The Institute was a tall two-story building that looked like an old school house. It was surrounded by a metal gate and on the front of the building in big gold letters read the Fushun Social Welfare Institute. There were smaller buildings around the big one and a playground in the back. Inside, there were several small children playing with toys on the floor in an open room to the left of the front entrance. They could hear people upstairs running around and entered the building cautiously. An older woman came down the stairs and greeted them sweetly.

您好，欢迎来到抚顺社会福利院。 请进来

The translator looks to the couple, "The woman welcomes you, she says to come in." The Bennets smile to the woman and say "Of course, Thank You very much."

The translator says to the woman, 他们非常感谢你。

我是米多诺。 在我们带你去涪陵之前，我会告诉你。

"She says her name is Mido. She would like to show you around before you see Líng Líng." The translator says gently.

"Okay!" They say as the woman, Mido, leads them up the stairs. When they get up to the second floor, they see two rows of cribs. There are four women tending to the babies and cleaning the bedding. The room is bright with sunlight streaming through the windows. They are led down a hallway where there are several rooms with bunkbeds nestled into all the available space. There are several children running around through the rooms. Some of the rooms at the end have traditional desks and chairs for schools, the rooms must be used for teaching. They follow Mido through the halls until they are back at the stairwell. Mido had been explaining what most of the general rooms were used for. There wasn't much space in the complex for the number of orphans being brought to them each year. But they would never refuse them. There were several cats wandering around in the rooms, basking in the sun, sleeping under windows. The children were loved by this woman, Mido, and the other caretakers, but they were overworked. There was so much to do and Jen and Paul only saw seven or eight other women in the building.