Another day, another new adventure

After we dropped the kids off on Tuesday, the caregivers asked them how their day went. They told them all they had done. One thing that was very special to them was that they got to pick out their own meals when we went out for lunch. And they also got to raid the refrigerator whenever they wanted to. G, our agent, said this is very typical for children raised in an institution. Because there are so many children, they have to eat what is put before them, when it's put in front of them. No other option.

The kids told the caregivers that they had a good day and they were ready for us again. Before we left, the caregivers gave us lots of neatly folded, nice clothes for them, along with toys. I was surprised about this as we were told that they would have nothing. I'm also very impressed with the orphanage. They clearly love the kids and do their best for them. When I said as much to G, she said, "Yes, but it's still an institution." She is right; no matter what, the best place for kids to thrive is in a family. 

We have only seen a couple of the kids. The orphanage workers said some of them are sad that they aren't getting parents, too. It's particularly hard on one boy. And that's hard for me.

Today we met our translator in the old part of the city. It's very pretty with cool buildings, a river, and several canals. She showed us the city cathedral, the padlock bridge, a playground, and a McDonalds. The padlock bridge was similar to a bridge over the River Seine in Paris. People put padlocks on the bridge with their names on it. They wanted to get a padlock and put the four of our names on it. Then when "we come back sometime, we can see if it's still here!"

At McDonalds, which we're pretty sure they'd never been to, they wanted "Happy Meals -" they were very adamant about the Happy Meals. Bryan also taught them how to blow the straw papers at people. They went through more straws than necessary and we had to clean up a few papers when we left the restaurant. At the table, they also said that Mama never has to go to jail (the game they played yesterday) because she isn't naughty. At last, someone has figured out the truth!

And when we walked by the River, one of the kids said that we had to repeat the name of the river...and they would be checking back to see if we remembered it in a few hours! That's my kind of kids, keeping us accountable :).

We came back to the apartment and played some more. Dad went back to jail a few times. This time they actually fed him some grapes. Then it was time to take them back for their last night there.

We got groceries again (seems to be a daily occurrence). Everything is in small containers. The milk, the nonrefrigerated orange juice. And it's been interesting to figure out what to make for meals. We made crepes for breakfast this morning, we eat lots of bread and salad and apples, and cereal. It's an adventure, for sure, but we're being treated very well by those taking care of us.