finding Judd's past

It’s afternoon here, but it’s already been a long day. After not knowing if we could, we finally applied for Judd’s passport. There has been a bit of unrest in Hohhot, leading to the closing of some government offices and roads. Thankfully things are better and we had a very smooth time at the office. We were even told that we should pick his passport up tomorrow and there would be no problem with us leaving on time, which was in question for a bit. Needless to say, we were oh so thankful.

We were also able to “visit” the orphanage. We knew that we would not be able to go inside, but we still wanted to take pictures of the outside and just be there. We stood at the gate and looked at large buildings. The orphanage worker gave us a booklet of pictures and entries made by his nanny in the Half the Sky Program. This is typical for the nannies there to do, but we weren't sure if we were going to be given ours. We aren't sure what this journal is about, but it seems, from the photos and pictures that she drew, that it is less medical and more of just notes to what he was doing at each period.  We are so so thankful for this information and can't wait to get it translated. In many of the pictures, we see a smiley little guy, much like the one we are getting to know. It will be great to read and hopefully give us more insight to where he has been the past 1 1/2 years.

Our driver, Cheng Lan the orphanage worker, Aggie our guide, us, Tom our other guide

As close as we could get to the orphanage, we even brought gifts, but still not allowed to go in

While we were there, however, our guide noticed a few bumps on Judd's neck and face.  We had seen these and after doing some internet research, we had guessed that they were bug bites. He’s been fine, so we’ve not been worried. After watching them talk back and forth, our guide said that they think he has chicken pox. She went to get the doctor here to look at him. About 10 minutes later, still in the gate house at the entrance of the orphanage, a lady in a white jacket and gloves came to look at his bumps. “Yes, chicken pox,” she decided. At one point, our guide said something about us needing to stay in quarantine for a few extra days here (WHAT?!), but after talking with her boss on the phone, decided that at this point, we could travel as planned. This incident has made us even more ready to be in the next city. We are praying for no more issues to arise, as they seem to do so very quickly in Hohhot.

At this point, Judd was beyond ready to nap and get back to the hotel. He screamed in the car and had the 2 guides and the driver anxious to give us advice. We have totally sensed an attitude towards us and the other adoptive family that we are somewhat unable to take care of Judd. We frequently hear, "He needs more clothes on" (although he is sweating), "Give him hot water to drink" (although he just threw his bottle of hot water). While we are trying to hear what they are saying and do realize that they probably have some insight on how Chinese babies are usually treated, it is getting a bit old. Finally Judd fell asleep.

We were also able to see the spot where Judd was abandoned. It is actually a few blocks from where we are saying and we were told it is the most wealthy district in town.  While it was by no means fancy by American standards, it was much cleaner and busier that other areas that we have seen. There were many stores - some with American names. Lots of people. We were also told this was the Muslim district--I suppose the temple was not far away. Judd was specifically left in front of a very large high rise store--by far the biggest and  nicest store we have seen in Hohhot. Out front of this store, there is a flag pole with three flags and some sort of stone sign underneath. This was where he was left.

 Tianyuan Mansions shopping mall, Judd was found under the flags

Here is where he was found

While I can't imagine leaving a baby, I could see why this location might be chosen. It is a very busy and wealthy part of town. It was very different than the other parts of Hohhot, so his mom must have chosen this spot carefully. He would have easily been seen and probably found by a wealthy person who could have taken care of him. Still, it really was hard to process and imagine him there alone.

We are praying for a smooth rest of the trip - no sickness, no more paperwork issues, etc. We feel, even more so now, a bit of an urgency to get out of Hohhot. It has been good for us to be here and experience where he is from, but we will be thankful to get on the plane tomorrow evening. Our hope is that tomorrow we will pick up his passport, visit the Museum of Inner Mongolia and then head to the airport around 5:00 for our 7:00 flight. We are praying that is what happens. At this point, we aren't taking those steps for granted.

-Anne