A Test in Patience

As the title says, today was a long day.  We did not have any group activities planned until the evening, and it rained……ALL day.  As we mentioned before, the refrigerator in our room is useless for the job is was intended for, so Noah and Adam attempted to step outside to buy some cold drinks.  They had no such luck, so they came back to the room.  Even though we have umbrellas with us, the streets and walkways are so uneven that many of the puddles seemed deep enough to fish in, and the traffic is just as heavy as it is on sunny days, and many times more dangerous with wet roads and low visibility.  Venturing outside was not an option.

Our patience is also being tested with Zoe.  Although we have made great strides over the last few days with her bonding, there are definitely moments that we don't know what to do for her, and don't know how to fix.  It would take a great deal of time and tissues for us to explain the little that we do know about her past, and our own knowledge and training about this process tells us that we should be prepared for any type of behavior that she shows…but it can still be difficult.  Infants don't always know what is going on, and sometimes older kids can be reasoned with easier…even without verbal communication, but it is nearly impossible for Zoe at the age of three to explain to us what the problem is, and likewise a challenge for us to meet that need.

So, we won our battles today where we could!  Bath time, as you know, is a hit, and Chrissy proceeded to blow bubbles, wash hair, and splash with her for a while.  Since we could not go outside to walk or get lunch, we cooked up some Cup O Noodles that we picked up yesterday at RT Mart.  That, in addition to the last of the American "snacks" that we brought with us sufficed.  We tried watching some TV, but three of the four English channels that we get were not working due to the storm outside.  Noah, Jackson, and Sofi went next door to play cards with Kai and his parents, while we sat with Zoe and went through craft after craft.  Chrissy had packed an entire bag of things to do and play with: sticker books, pipe cleaners, little toys, cut out books, etc.  They were intended to keep Zoe occupied during our 16 hour flight from Hong Kong next week, but desperate times call for desperate measures!

At 2pm, our guide stopped by the room with all of our paperwork, freshly notarized from our appointments a couple of days ago.  He told us that if it stopped raining then he would bring us to a fountain light show at night.  Thankfully, it did!  Our entire group was excited to get out of the hotel, and onto the bus at 7:30pm.  The show was beautiful, and so was the city…with the buildings all lit up, and lights dancing everywhere.