First off, please know that what I’m able to say here is very limited.
Today, I realized that there is a firewall against blogs in China. Talk about a reality check. I was told it has something to do with the recent uprisings in Tibet. For now, I will have a friend post pictures and entries, and I will post video clips when I leave the country. Sometimes we get so used to having and doing whatever, whenever, that we forget it’s a privilege that so many don’t share. I can’t talk about what this reminder makes me most grateful for. I even found myself singing as I ran yesterday, because I’m so thankful I’ve heard the good news… Thanks goes out to all who’ve fought for our freedom.
It’s warm here and sunny. The people are very friendly, but in this village area they do not speak English. The food… well I’m eating Chinese village food, thankfully the Olympic competitors, Germans actually, dumped all their left over clif bars, peanut butter, and beds/mattresses here before they left. The Chinese aren’t too interested in clif bars or PB so I’m greatly benefiting.
Wednesday I got to visit a government run orphanage. I won’t share the details of how. It is said to be one of the better ones, which is surely why I was allowed in. It was nice to see the children’s drawings on the walls, and the kids sitting at desks learning. This is a result of a foreign non-profit that comes in and creates child-development centers for the kids. Down the hall, however, I poked my head in a sleeping room where 20 little ones were napping. It reeked of urine. I was told that wet diapers are hung out to dry, without even a rinse. In the winter, a damp one always replaces it. I think I heard that 700 diapers a day are used and I don’t doubt it. The young lady who gave me the tour was so sweet. The issue of orphans not receiving proper care is huge. It’s not that she doesn’t care, there are just so many children.
Here’s a picture of a little girl I met there. You can see it looks like a school.
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