Hello everyone! Well, we got up this morning around 8 and left for Stara Zagora around 8:45. We picked up Plamena (translator) on the way out of Sofia. We did have some snow as we drove to Stara Zagora....the mountains are beautiful!
We arrived in Stara Zagora around 11:30 and went straight to the orphanage. I was very excited that they did let Dora Beth come with me...didn’t think they were going to allow her in the orphanage at all. We met with the orphanage director, psychologist and social worker. The orphanage is actually for children birth to 7 years, but they kept saying how M is special so they kept her longer. We were also told there were around 180 children in this orphanage. They did inform me that M has a very good friend who is just a year younger who we will be meeting. They said that M and this boy have been friends for a very long time and it will be very difficult for him when M leaves. They hope that by him meeting me that it will help ease his mind. We finally got to meet M and spent about an hour with her in the early after noon. They had told her that someone was coming to visit her, but they hadn’t told her who or what was happening. So, she was a little confused by why there were so many people around. She also had to ask what language we were speaking. Although she has had some English, it hasn’t been as much as I had hoped. During the first visit the psychologist (who M is very close to) told her that I would be adopting her. She had a HUGE smile on her face when she was told she was being adopted. We ended up leaving so that she could go back to school, but were told we could come back around 3:30 to visit her again. We went to the hotel got settled and then ate some lunch. We went back to the orphanage at 3:30...she was very happy to see us and our translator is doing a wonderful job at helping us communicate with each other. I had brought her a few things during this visit and she was quick to show excitement. She loves girly things....so hair items were a big hit. She also likes my I-touch (no surprise there). I tried to tell her about Iowa and things that I normally do. She has never done so many things....never been to a zoo or field trip. The psychologist said that she didn’t even realize that cherries come from a tree until she saw one and they explained what it was to her. So many things to get to introduce to her! She did ask if we took a plane or a boat to get here....I had to laugh at that, but said that a boat would take a lot longer. She is very shy, but is doing more talking. We will visit again tomorrow morning (we are working around her school schedule). The one disappointment I had was that I was told that I’m not allowed to take any pictures while I’m at the orphanage. I’m hoping by the end of the week they will either let me take a couple or maybe take one for me. Now we are back at the hotel for the night....most likely will try to grab something to eat at some point.
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