Day 2

Today we made the drive to the orphanage. It was neat to see the more rural areas of Vietnam. There is a lot of construction going on here, so we would see farmers tending their rice patties amongst heavy construction equipment. One of the roads we travelled was two lanes being widened to sixteen! We also saw the beginnings of Hanoi's first skyscraper. It will be 70 stories when completed. When that area is complete it will become the new center of Hanoi and the area where we're staying will become the historical area.
The drive lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Traffic was lighter because it is Sunday, so I'm not sure how long the drive will be for the giving and receiving ceremony. On the way, we were told the ceremony will be tomorrow. When we finally got to the orphanage, there was a woman standing just inside the doorway holding a baby that looked familiar to us, but we weren't sure. When we went inside there was a bed with three other babies on it. We looked back at the woman holding the baby and she was smiling at us. She said "Chung" (his Vietnamese first name, pronounced choong). That was all we needed to hear! I hope she wasn't planning on holding that baby much longer because we were comin' for 'em! She started speaking to us and soon realized we had absolutely no idea what she was saying, so she enlisted the help of Mr. Linh. She had been trying to tell us that he ate the most of any baby in the orphanage. She seemed very proud of this fact as she squeezed his arms and legs periodically throughout our visit while smiling and nodding her head, making sure we saw how she'd "fattened him up". It was very obvious to us that this woman cares deeply for Chung and we expect tomorrow to be emotional. Karen held Chung first. He had the cutest confused look at first. Probably because there was a camera in his face. Within two minutes though, he was fast asleep. As he was passed to me, he woke long enough to satisfy the urge to grab my nose and then he was out again. We were told he does not fuss and that he sleeps after being fed. He must have just eaten because he certainly wanted to sleep. Come to think of it, that confused look did slightly resemble the after Thanksgiving Dinner look! We are suspicious that his caretaker may have spoiled him, she told us when he cries we must pick him up right away and walk with him. We promised we would. We also were told that he and two other babies were "the naughtiest". Apparently when these three cohorts get together they are too much for one caretaker to handle! All too soon the time came to leave. Talk about a dirty trick, as if we hadn't waited long enough! Oh well, I guess we can stand one more day. Then he's ours for keeps!