Outside orphanage with other kids and staff

Eating lunch in dining area

Beds

Here is Gary's little boy showing him the his bed. I'm not sure where Lei sleeps, but obviously she has the same kind of bed.

Playroom in orphanage

Lei playing with friends

Lei is the tallest of the girls, with the striped top and white skirt. They look like they are getting a little ride on a laundry cart.

Orphanage Grounds

Front of Orphanage

View of Lake and Hotel in Hangzhou

Info about Lei

I never finished writing about what I learned about Lei. I spoke to the man who met her for over an hour several weeks ago and it was great. He told me that when he and his new son went to the orphanage, a little girl walked right up to his son and took off his new baseball hat. The family his from Miami and so the man had brought his son a new Dolphins shirt and hat. So the little girl walked up and took it off his son's head and put it on her own head and wore it for the next hour or so while they were there. The man said that the little girl was "beautiful," and very confident. He said that he asked the people who worked at the orphanage about his son, as well as about Lei. He said he was curious about her because most of the children at the orphanage had major facial deformities or were mentally handicapped. He was surprised that such an adorable girl had not been adopted. He asked what she was called (her name) and was told that she was called, "little sister," or "older sister," by the other kids, not by her name. I know that is typical of many people in China, not just her orphanage, but he was surprised. He said that he was told that his son and Lei were the leaders at the orphanage. Even though they were not the oldest, they were very confident. He was told that every now and then one of the nannies or another of the nannies would bring one of the kids home for the weekend. Whenever one of them was brought home, they would bring home both kids. He said that he was told that they went to school in town, thought I don't think he said where. He said that there were only about 15 children at the orphanage and that they all had some type of special need. The orphanage is attached to a orthopedic hospital. The plan was that the orphanage was going to be closing and the are would be used as part of the hospital. He said it was very clean, but sterile, just as you would imagine a hospital to be. Cement walls, tile floors. He took a few pictures of Leia inside and outside of the orphanage and sent them to me within an hour of talking on the phone. One is of her having lunch, one is of her with friends outside, and one is of all of the kids and a couple of staff people outside. He sent one of his son standing by his bed and I am sure Lei's bed looks the same. Metal beds with sides, they look a lot like big cribs.
Greg told me that he knew what Lei's referral picture looked like and that she didn't look like that, at least not anymore. I asked how he knew about her referral picture and he said that his son was in her referral picture and she was in his son's. I remembered that you could see a little bit of two other children in the two pictures we had of Lei. When he told me what his son was wearing, I remembered seeing that in the pictures. Lei looks very hip in the pictures. Very well dressed and stylish. I was definitely surprised how cute she was dressed for being in an orphanage.