It was a very early morning because we had to get to Nanjing's brand new GIGANTIC train station to catch our high speed magnetic train to Xuzhou. The station is so massive and is bigger than many airports that I have been to. The train was a fabulous way to travel... so smooth and easy. It only took 2 hours to get to Xuzhou so it was really moving. I wish we had that option in the states. Johnathan was excited about the train when he saw it in the station but once we sat down in our seats he was all about the snacks :)
The driver from the orphanage picked us up at the train station and after driving through Xuzhou (which really is an awesome city), visiting Johnathan's finding spot, and having enough lunch to feed an army (I will never understand why they order so much food!) we finally arrived for our visit to the orphanage.
When we got there the little kids were sleeping so we toured the construction site for the new orphanage building. It has taken a long time to build it and the orphanage director said that they cannot find enough construction workers to build it (and they cannot find any during the winter months at all... I was shocked by that). It is supposed to be done for the grand opening in June 2012. Xuzhou SWI is already the largest in Jiangsu province but when the new building is done it will be the largest in China. It is huge and it looks like it will be really nice... the director is super excited and VERY proud!
We were worried that Johnathan might be affected by going back to the orphanage but instead he was really excited to see his friends and nannies again. We handed out some treats and met some of the kids who are matched and that I want to advocate for. Jack and Jay both had a great time playing with the kids (any male can instantly become 3 years old at a moments notice... right?). We saw Johnathan's old bed and they made him some special bread that he LOVED. We gave him time to say goodbye to his friends and nannies that he was leaving behind. All in all we were there for like 5 hours when we had planned on 1... I have to tell you that the orphanage director was NOT surprised by that at all :) It was a long and exhausting day but so very, very worth it.
