Day 3 (Has it really only been 3 days?)

Today has been very different than yesterday. Olivia is still doing amazinginly well, but she is more sad today and quiet. The very first thing she did when she woke up was to put on her crocs. I had taken them off of her during the night and she was not happy about that! She LOVES them so much. She also refuses to take of her hair bow. I'm beginning to wonder if this is not some sort of attachment thing. These things belong to her and she wears them each day so she is making sure they stay with her. Sort of a security blanket.
We had an incident happen that I think has contributed to her saddness. Mary was in the hotel room with us and when she was about to leave she and I began walking to the door. Olivia started crying and ran to me. She thought I was leaving her. It just broke my heart. Shortly after that when I laid her down for her nap she started crying for her PoPo. That's the first time she's done that. It is a scary world for her right now. She has no idea if I'm leaving or staying. I pray that it doesn't take long for her to feel secure.
This is her favorite way to wear her hair bows. We've had several comments today by Chinese people about how cute her bows are.
This is Olivia talking to her Daddy on the webcam. He sings The Itsy Bitsy Spider to her every day. She loves it.
The first time she waved Bye Bye to Daddy. Now she does it to everyone.
Olivia is a really good eater. She wipes her mouth with her spoon if any food gets on her face. Here is a video clip of breakfast.

Mary picked us up at 9 to go to the Yi ling Village. It is an hours drive from Nanning. It was chilly and raining a little. The fog was really bad so most of the pictures are not very good. I wouldn't have missed this trip for the world. This village is where there is one of the largest Rice Paddies in Nanning. The people are very poor. I was so humbled while I was there. I felt very rude taking pictures of the people but Mary assured me they didn't mind. They were very nice and smiled at us. I cried while I was there and again when we left. I am so incredibly blessed. I don't think I could live like these people do. I take so much for granted.

This is what most of the houses looked like. Many of them had no doors or windows, only openings. I cannot fathom how they stay warm. All of the houses had lots of firewood stacked up outside. Mary said they go all over the place hunting for any kind of wood they can to burn.
I am crying as I type about these women. They are doing their laundry. It was so cold out and they dip the laundry in the water then put it on the rock slab and scrub each piece with a brush, then rinse it again. The woman holding the yellow shirt was concerned that my hands were cold because I wasn't wearing gloves. This lady, who was sticking her own hands in ice cold water, was thinking of my comfort. I stood there and wept. I will never in my entire life complain about doing laundry again.
This sign says Brave Generation Of Tai Mountain. I wanted to have Olivia's picture taken in front of it because I believe she is very brave.

Pictures from one of our MANY walks around the hotel lobbyThe hotel is decorated for Chinese New Year. This is the Year of the Rat


I was really hoping to see a bride while we were here. I was so excited! She was very nice and let me take a picture.
Now is this cute or what?
This evening has been very busy. Susan from Grace & Hope for Children came by to bring me the CD of Olivia's life from the time they began helping her. It was a wonderful visit. She downloaded pictures of Olivia from the last few days to take to Olivia's foster mother.
Kathy asked me to bring a packet of pictures to her foster mother. Her daughter Sarah is from the same orphanage as Olivia. Tonight the foster mother, her son and daughter-in-law and their son came to the hotel to get the package. Mary came as well to translate for us. We all went to dinner and had an amazing time. She brought gifts not only for Kathy's family but for Olivia as well. She brought her a set of the stuffed Chinese New Year mice, a little Chinese purse and for good luck for the rest of her life she gave her a Jade stone. I was overwhelmed by her generosity. She also made me some homemade Rice Cake. It is a special food of Guangxi province. Mary said it tastes kind of salty and has some meat in it.

In the restaurant you go from station to station and point to what you want on the wall. They enter it into a computer then bring it to your table. You tell them how many are at your table and they bring enough for everyone. The food is put onto a lazy susan and everone shares.
Already after the boys!
By the end of this day, Olivia has done much better. We had a good time at dinner and she was so well behaved, as usual. Sarah's foster mother kept saying that she felt like Olivia was already attaching to me by the way she acted. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. We are going to a 1000 year old Buddhist Temple and then to climb the Qing Xie Mountain to the Pagoda.