A New World

(...Gotcha continued)

Walking into the hotel lobby

It is somewhat difficult to comprehend going from no-star to 5-star in a matter of minutes.  But this is exactly what happens for these little ones and it is so hard for us to understand how their world is rocked and turned upside down.  Really, when you think about it, they must be mostly content and satisfied with their little routine and meager living in the orphanage because that is all they know.  They know nothing about clean, crisp sheets, fluffy duvets, buffet meals, lounging in a hot bubble bath, and toys that you don't have to share.  They are happy, because they have no comparison...it is all relative to their experiences.

However, I do know that this idea is only true for their physical surroundings, daily routines and early caregiver relationships.  Deep down in their souls, there must be some little feeling that something is missing...that it is incomplete, that they are lacking at their heart level, lonely and scared, but of course never being able to pinpoint it with their little minds.  Don't we all have that at times? When we know something about our life is not going right?  Something deep inside you that is stirring...a yearning and searching for that something that will make you feel complete?  I am confident they have this going on in their soul, a searching for love, for belonging, for consistent people in their life.

Also at nearly 4 years old, Vivian has watched many little friends go away, never coming back.  She must know, at some level, that there is something beyond that gate...something that is different.

Our guide, who also worked in an orphanage in the past, told us that once the children are matched with a family, the caregivers begin to treat them differently...talk to them differently, tell them things, talk about Mama and Baba (Daddy), are a little nicer to them, etc.  I found this so fascinating (and frustrating)...that somehow having a loving family out there would get you treated with more respect, more encouragement, more hope.  Wouldn't it seem that the opposite should be true...that the ones that will never have a family coming, would be the ones who would need more loving care?  Or better yet, that all children, no matter what they look like, behave like, or their situation, would get loved and talked to in the same way?  I really don't get why we humans treat each other this way...valuing some over others.  It is so hard for me to comprehend, even though I know this phenomenon is a fact.





Vivian has never known what she experienced today and it was so fun watching her take in everything...from the marble columns and chandeliers in the hotel as she walked through the revolving door, to her own little bath toys, to the pretty little bag that holds her snacks, to walking through the park.  She took it all in, with serious eyes of wonder.