Meet Rebecca

Hello everyone. This will cover the last few days - we've had Rebecca about 48 hours now.

We were a bit nervous when it actually came time to get her and our coordinator picked us up from the hotel and took us to the Civil Affairs Office. It has been moved to the Science and Technology Museum which was a bit worse for wear. Three other couples (three people had degrees from Webster University!) were also there from another agency and we sat in the lobby until it was time to go upstairs. Gwen was getting excited but a bit nervous as well. We came upstairs and about 10 minutes later the children were brought into the office. As soon as Rebecca saw us she had a complete meltdown and was holding onto the doorframe and the nanny for dear life. She is as cute as can be and looks smaller and younger than the last picture we had. She had wafers and a half eaten cookie in her hand which she held onto the first few hours. She also had a little dog Gwen had picked out for her in the package we were allowed to mail and we were told it was a favorite toy. The only other possessions she came with were a nightgown and some kind of jacket, trucks and a little stuffed toy that she had a in plastic bag.

She would not let go of the nanny and they finally had to pull her off the nanny and make her sit on my lap. Then it was time to leave the office and get her passport picture taken and a family registration picture. She screamed the entire time and was inconsolable. We were quite a sight as I held this little Chinese girl screaming along with a little red head and were causing a lot of attention. We got back to the hotel and she cried a bit longer and then finally did nothing. Gwen did a great job during this whole time and started getting toys out. She eventually turned around and then was VERY active for a while. We were able to go out to dinner and she had a great time and ate a ton.

She had to go back to the office the next day and got very upset when she saw the coordinator. She eventually calmed down and we were able to finish that day's paperwork. She finally put on a new shirt today but had a lot of tears - still the same shorts she had on when we picked her up and no bath yet. If you show her clothes she folds them up as neatly as a gap employee and then puts them away. Apparently in the countryside children don't change as often and baths are more of a sponge bath so we will have to take it slowly. She still gets upset easily and likes to throw something or grab something to test us. She is intrigued with what we brought with us and I don't think she was familiar with a western toilet - she did use the toilet paper to wrap up dominoes and put them in a drawer! She is referring to us as mama and baba and says some version of Gwen. She had a picture book about us before we got her and it was obvious she had gone through it before.

Although she will probably have an initial harder adjustment it was good she was in a foster home here versus the orphanage- apparently not the usual situation. She has lived on a farm with a family that had two older biological boys and we get the impression she got a lot of attention and has gone to some level of preschool. The foster mother requested our email address so she could check in on Rebecca when we get back so I hope we will hear from her.

She is bright and curious and I think she will catch on quickly to English. Chinese is not easy and the coordinator has a hard time understanding her it seems. We know a little Chinese but it is a tonal language and pronunciation is very important - for instance baba can mean daddy or "to poop" depending on the tone of your voice!

So all is well and we'll post more later! (Sorry but spell check won't work.) Laura