Day 1 and 2

Well, we left for Bulgaria on the 21st.  I should start out by saying Maria decided to get a virus on Tuesday before we left, so she had been sick just prior to the trip.  Friday we drove to the suburbs of Chicago and stayed in a hotel that night since there was a snow storm in the forecast.  The trip was rather uneventful, but long.  Maria did great on the airplanes and was positive and upbeat.  We were helped by airport assistance at all the airports we were in.  I have to admit the concerns I had about airport security ended up not being as bad as I expected for Maria.  They were helpful and very clear about exactly what they had to do and did it in a quick and  appropriate way.  We had a little down time at both O'Hare and Madrid.

We finally got into Sofia on Sunday afternoon around 3pm and were met by our translator for the trip.  He was kind enough to wait at the airport with us while our friend Manuela flew in from Switzerland with her boyfriend.  They got in about 90 minutes after we did.  It was so great to finally met her in person and for Maria to be reunited with someone who did so much to help her while she was in the orphanage.  

We left with Manuela and her boyfriend to go back to Stara Zagora and visit Maria's former orphanage.  Manuela had been great in organizing the visit for us.  I was a little worried about how Maria would respond to being back and seeing it without Z being there.  I was also worried about Maria being upset that she couldn't communicate as well in Bulgarian.  We had a 2 1/2 hour drive.....it was nice to sit in the van and chat with Manuela about many things and the joy both Maria and Manuela had at seeing each other again.  Along the trip to Stara Zagora we stopped and ate dinner at one of the many Happy restaurants throughout the country.  Maria was happy to get one of her favorite Bulgarian dishes and even some ice cream.  We then finished our drive and ended up at the Fondation Swissclinical building for the night.  We got a nice tour of the building and were able to sleep in some of the bedrooms made for the team when they are doing their visits.  It was nice to finally have a bed to sleep in at that point and the rooms were perfect for what we needed.

Monday morning we got up and ready.  We ate some banitsa for breakfast and then drove to the orphanage.  We pulled up as close as possible to the orphanage.  Excitement was in the air.  Maria was so excited about going back.  As we drove up I noticed the director and assistant director were both there waiting for us.  No sooner did we park the van and one of the male orphanage workers was at the door, picking Maria up and taking her up the stairs.  Another worker had picked up her wheelchair and took it up too.  Manuela, BF and I went up the stairs too, only to find Maria had been ushered, like the princess she is, into the director's office and onto the couch.  We sat down and talked for a while.  They were thrilled to see Maria and presented her with two books, gave her a cookie and asked many questions.  I had let other friends who have children adopted from Stara Zagora know that we would be visiting and would be willing to take photos for the staff to see.  I gave the photos to the director and he was pleased to see the changes in the children.  I was also able to tell him that one of the girls who had been on the orphanage table cricket team and was now living in a different city is in the process of being adopted.  He said this was the best news I could give him and he even gave us the girl's cricket certificate and medal to send to her soon to be family.  

The director called for the male worker to come again and Maria was once again picked up and whisked away upstairs where several of the workers that had cared for Maria were waiting to welcome her back.  When I had first visited Maria I didn't go to her floor, so this was a first for me.  In the small room the staff had set up a small celebration.  There was a traditional Bulgarian bread, juice, fruit and gifts from the caretakers.  Maria was the center of attention, getting lots of hugs, kisses and loved on.  I also was hugged and kissed by many of the staff.  They had many questions...they asked about Maria's surgeries from last year.  We got to see Maria's old room and the staff gave Maria back the stuffed cat I had brought her on my visit trip with her.  As our time came to an end we took some photos with the staff.  I was happy we got some since when I picked up Maria to come home I wasn't able to get any photos.

After the visit we then headed to the town little sister lives in.  We went to the orphanage there and had our vist meeting with little sister.  She is tiny and knows what she wants.  She has a preferred caretaker who she loves a lot!  The visit was short since we were disrupting her normal nap time to meet.  After that we went to the hotel and got settled in.  The hotel was nice, but didn't have an elevator so Maria had to go up and down the steps on her bottom....the staff was great and brought our meals up to us so Maria wouldn't have to do the steps more than necessary.