Then we ate lunch at McDonalds -- we thought we could call out a # to select our value meal <g>.  We were able to point to a picture and upsized our order without realizing what we were doing.

Next, we headed for something called the Silk Alley, passing it several times before realizing it really was an alley.  This was an outdoor market with all sorts of silk and cashmere, as well as other items.  Bargaining was the name of the game at the Silk Alley (the price was the price at the Friendship Store).  We came away with another cloisonne ornament that we didn't need, but the haggling was sure fun <g>.  Rance came away with 4 silk ties -- one is way cool, a red tie with a dragon embroidered in gold.  He plans to wear it to all of Mei Mei's special occasions <g>.  This experience was not just very cool, but way way cool!

Her face screwed up and turned red and she howled as fat tears slid from each side of her eyes.  As we boarded the elevator for our room, her nanny waved good-bye with tears in her eyes too.  They were very close. Bing Bing stopped crying after about 15 minutes in our room and enjoyed playing with the stacking cups we brought.  She smiled hesitantly, coyly. She scooted to the floor and showed off her crawling skills, pulling herself up to a standing position in the foyer of our room. 

Madame Tang made the rounds to each parent's room answering questions about the baby.  "Bing Bing eats everything, but especially loves rice, and she's the fastest crawler of all the babies." We were glad to have the chance to speak personally with the woman who had supervised her care for so long.

When Mei Mei was awake, she had a stoney stare, taking in all around her and while she submitted to our care, she had not decided to love us yet.

She and Patsy paced the room, looking in all the mirrors, her head resting on Patsy's chin. They ended up in the bathroom, where there were several mirrors. She'd look at Patsy and herself in the mirror and then look up at Patsy, then back again.  They did this for a while as Mei Mei processed her new predicament.  Her private war had subsided. She began to play and let out belly laughs and her smile was not just a lip-curver, but a full-facer. 

Then Madame Tang had hand-written a note to each child.  Many paragraphs were the same for each child, but she had written a special paragraph for each individual baby.  Our Great Wall facilitator translated the note for each family, and there were no dry eyes (even the men!) in the room.  She explained to each child that she was taken care of in the orphanage for 15 months, then described the child.  The last sentence of Mei Mei's paragraph said that she was the baby that was loved by everyone. 

Next, Madame Tang presented each family with a red and gold banner with the name of the orphanage, two hands (one USA and one China) holding a baby, and Chinese characters that said Thank You.