Blog Seven

Well, I guess we know now that Emma Lee is definitely mine.
We were strolling down the streets of Hefei today and it started raining. We stopped at a street-side vendor to buy an umbrella when an older Chinese lady came out to look at Emma Lee in her stroller.
She looked at her, and then looked at me and started laughing. She kept pointing at me and saying something I couldn't understand. We finally figured out that she was saying that Emma Lee looks like me.
My eyes have always been slanted - I ate a lot of rice as a kid - but I didn't know they were that slanted.
Much to our relief, Emma settled down today and seemed to get adjusted to us. She slept all night last night and by this morning was laughing and giggling and playing. By the end of the day, she seemed to be getting attached.
In fact, the only time she cried - screamed is more like it - was when we tried to take her food, sippy cup or toy away from her. She also didn't like it when we she thought we might be leaving her.
Based on the way she has acted and things we have learned, we have figured out that she has been left behind or sent away a lot in her short life. Based our research and interviews with the orphanage officials, she was taken to an orphanage shortly after she was born. After about a year there, she was taken away and sent to a foster home. The, after about 11 months there, she was taken away again and sent back to the orphanage to prepare her for her latest transition.
She was at the orphanage for about a week before they brought her to us. That explains why she was so upset when we met her. She knew she was being left and sent away again.
As a result, she can't stand to have us out of her sight, or to think that we might be leaving her.
We had to go back to the Adoption Center today to finalize our paperwork, and we were scared to death of taking her back there. We were afraid she was either going to see the orphanage director again and want to go back with him, or would be scared we were going to take her back and leave her.
Thankfully, neither happened. She calm the entire time, playing and laughing for two hours while we signed more documents. That was another blessing and a sign that everything is going to be fine.
She also hates elevators. She screams and cries and is terrified every time she gets into an elevator. At first we thought it was just the motion. But we think the only time she has ever ridden in an elevator was this week when they brought her to the fifth floor of the Adoption Center to meet us - and leave her once again.
Despite all that, she is adjusting well and quickly becoming attached to us and part of our family.
She even got her first trip to Wal-Mart today, so she is prepared for the transition to Gastonia.
The other exciting thing that happened today was the 30-minute walk to and from Wal-Mart. We walked down the streets of downtown Hefei, surrounded by store after store and street vendors.
People were everywhere, walking the streets, zipping in and out of traffic - vehicles and pedestrians - on their scooters and motorcycles. It's a miracle there aren't a dozen people run over and killed every hour.
There were also dozens of street vendors, cooking food and peddling various products and services.
They all watched us with a deep sense of curiosity and awe. Most clearly had never seen an American couple walking the streets of their city with a Chinese baby.
Most seemed downright dumbfounded. Some may have been shocked or appalled, but most were simply curious.
Many greeted us warmly and seemed very pleased to see Emma. Many smiled and said, "Hallo, hallo (hello)," while others laughed and said things we couldn't understand (and I probably don't want to).
It was an incredible experience walking the streets and blending in with the Chinese people, soaking up their culture. This is the China we imagined and expected, unlike Beijing, which is as Western is many American cities. It's hard to explain what it's like, but it's as foreign as anything you can imagine.
Tomorrow we get to see the town she came from and the orphanage where she has spent most of her life.
More on that and her progress later.
As I watch her sleep, I can't help but think for the umpteenth time today that she is the most beautiful, most precious child that I have ever seen.