Giving and Receiving Ceremony

I haven't had a chance yet to write about our trip to the orphanage and the Giving & Receiving ceremony, which both happened on our second day here. It was all such a blur and happened quite fast once we got to the orphanage but I'll try to remember. Thankfully, Jeff videotaped the walk through the orphanage because I had just been handed Sabian and was really focused on him, not to mention my emotional state!

After a long drive through town,we saw the living conditions deteriorate as we drove towards the orphanage. It was just much more poverty stricken than the areas near the first district and China town where we've seen. Tam Binh is smaller than I had imagined, and when we pulled up in our van and I saw the guard open up the gate, I could not believe we were actually here at the turquoise sign I've looked at for so many months on internet pictures. How was this possible? Our day had finally come! It was all so surreal, I just could not take the reality of it and was so overwhelmed.

As soon as we got out of the van and Sabian's young nanny in her pink shirt walked up to greet us, I didn't even know who she as but I lost it and began to cry. I told myself I had to pull it together or else I'd really be a mess! We were escourted by our adoption agency's VN facilitators, Mr. Tom and Thao, into small the Tam Binh office set up with chairs for us complete with a tea service! (so funny, but thoughtful) In fact, we spilled the tea cup when I was filling out the Tam Binh Orphanage book where we have to write an official statement that we are donating a certain amount of money for the care of their orphans. I don't even remember what I wrote, just that Thao showed me what words to write and that I had gotten tea on the corners of their important book. The orphanage director seemed pretty serious and didn't show too much emotion. That was another surreal part -how I've seen hundreds of pictures of him with various adoptive families who've visited and now we were with him! I wanted to know what Mr. Tom, Thao and the director were saying because they carried on conversations in Vn'ese the whole time.

After we had barely sat down in our chairs, I looked to my right where the open door was that we had just walked through, and here was Sabian's nanny bringing him towards us! He was wearing a two toned blue striped sleeper and I knew it was him immediately. My delicate floodgate of tears really opened up at the moment he was placed in my arms. I could not keep them inside any longer, even though I tried so that I would not scare him. He was just as I had imagined he might be, very quiet and reserved, just taking it all in. I was in love with this little being immediately and barely let him go to let Jeff hold him for a minute while I signed the book. Then, we were whisked off to walk through the orphanage. I held Sabian and Jeff video'd.

It was, like I said, smaller then I had imagined and we barely saw the openings to the older kids in their rooms. It was very quiet throughout the front of the complex where we walked. I thought it'd be loud and bustling, but maybe that's because it was so early in the morning. We walked up the staircase on the left side of the complex and saw the two infant rooms. There were a group of nannies in the first one, on the floor caring for a handful of babies. We were introduced to the head nanny She was a mature lady dressed very nicely in a traditional silk ao dai (I think this is what the dress is called) We were escorted next, into Sabian's infant room and showed his crib by the entrance. The room was, again, so much smaller than I had imagined, and there were only 3-4 babies in it. We were instructed to put Sabian in his crib to take his picture, and as soon as I did, Jeff saw his whole face drop immediately. He told me he was about to cry, and I kneeled down to talk to him as Jeff was videotaping him. I picked him back up after we seemed to appease the workers. Thao was pretty quick and forward with how she moved us around so hurriedly, and every time we hesitated to look around (which I did the whole time, 'cause, I mean, come on! we're tring to take this all in so we can document it for our child!)
to get more time there, she came to tell us to hurry along. Before we knew it we were taking a final picture with the staff and shown back to the van. I don't even remember when our gifts got distributed that we had brought with us, although I do remember the director holding ours when we were in his office and thanking us for it.

I looked back one last time and saw the only person standing there on the stairs, Sabian's nanny in her pink shirt. She had a slight smile on her face but as I met her eyes, and said goodbye while holding Sabian, I saw her face change to sadness -and for an instant, in which I cannot explain, I felt in my heart, the sadness she showed on her face, as the baby she had cared for was being taken away to a new life. It was a moment in time I will not and cannot forget.


One of only a few pictures we were able to take at the orpahange becasue we were hurried through and I held Sabian while Jeff video taped. Through this entrance, and to the left up a set of stairs, is where Sabian lived for almost ten months.

Here we are at the Giving and Receiving ceremony with the orphanage director and Thao exiting the door. Mr. Tom took the picture and videotaped for us. Sabian slept through it and we never had time to change his clothes since we were hurried straight to this ceremony after the orpahange visit, but it all worked out perfectly anyway. In this picture, I am thinking that I am the happiest person right there - being able to hold my sleeping child who is pefectly content.

That's all I can write for now. It's 4AM and I'm going to rest for a bit until Little S wakes up.

We are hoping to go to the war museum today and hope it's open on Christmas. On Friday, we get Sabian's passport which Jeff applied for on Monday. Then, on Saturday, we have plane tickets on Vietnam airlines to go up north to Hanoi to complete our adoption process there. It'll be good practice with Sabian on his first airplane trip, to see how he may react for our final trip home to the United States. I'm crossing my fingers!

...more later