Hi Everyone!
Sorry that it took me so long to write, things have been rather crazy ever since I arrived about 48 hours ago now. Travel went very smoothly which I am thankful for. I arrived in Beijing and everything went fine with absolutely no trouble going through customs. I then found baggage claim where my suitcase did make it (thank goodness) and then exchanged some money (yes, I did this all by myself!). I shortly after found the Starbucks where I was to meet the driver from New Day. Found it and he was no where to be found. Although I didn't panic and about 10 minutes later he got there. Of course he didn't speak English (which I was warned before) so it was a rater quiet hour long car ride. All I can say is my parents are right. Chinese drivers make my driving look great! I think my driver honked horn twice before we were even out of the parking ramp of the aiport. There really wasn't too much to see on the ride. No, didn't see the Great Wall yet. The driver took me directly to New Day where I met Caroline (my contact person in China for the past 6 months) and my 3 roomates. They are all SO nice and we are getting along great so far. At this point it was about 6 p.m. China time which means that my body was on 5 a.m. time so I was pretty tired. But I did stay awake unti 9 and slept well until about 4 a.m. where I couldn't fall back asleep.
Yesterday was my first day really at the foster home since I didn't see much of it the nigt before. Oh my goodness...the pictures didn't lie, these kids are ADORABLE! I started out in the downstairs playroom where I got to play with probably bout 8 little ones. It was hard because they were so clingy and wouldn't let the other kids have a turn. I know at one point I had 3 little kids sitting on my legs alone. : ) ne of the little boys, I this his name is Samuel, has no legs. He is SO cute though and he and I became good friends. They also found my hat to be funny as one little guy wore it around. And yes, another little boy kept looking at my pearls. : ) I then headed down the the preschool which is where I'll be spending most of my time. I mainly observed as it was my first day and I was very jetlagged still. There is another American volunteer there who has been here for 5 months so she helped me a lot.
Today was a little more frustrating. I got a cold while on the plane and today wasn't feeling so great. If you are sick at all, they don't like you to be around the kids becasue they do have such significant special needs and are prone to get a cold that will last them all winter. So I helped Sarah (she is the preschool director and speaks very good English) with some Chinese New Year decortions and other odd jobs. I was able to sleep until 5:45 this morning so my body is starting to adjust. I'm excited that tomorrow not a lot is planned so hopefully I'll be able to get some rest.
I'm sorry but I have no pictures to share yet. I just got my camera all charged but then today I wasn't even with the kids. I promise I will take some soon! Thanks so much everyone and please feel free to email me. I love hearing from you all!
~Anneli
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