We felt so much better going back to the orphanage today. Anche is doing awesome. We're learning things about her and she is slowly learning to trust us. We felt like she was already doing a couple of new things today. She was clapping and boy did Rob have her belly laughing while he was driving a little car up her leg. It seems she's quite ticklish.
The orphanage here is very good. We've been told it's one of the best in Bulgaria. The workers are all so friendly. The director is very friendly. But we're learning the people in Bulgaria in general are very friendly. It's very similar to North Dakota EXCEPT they don't smile and say hi on the sidewalk.
We left our blanket, photo book, doll (although she doesn't care for it), duck, recordable story book and we plan to have a photo printed of the three of us when we go to get her visa photo taken tomorrow. All of that we should get back when we pick her up.
They asked us today what we plan to name her and they say that from now on they will call her Emily. They seem committed to the transition. We were told by our agency that they will read her the stories we gave her every day.
At the end of our visit they told us we could go up and feed her. She did not like that idea at all. The brought her tray out to the entryway and plopped it down on a little table. It was completely out of the ordinary for her and she protested, but at least we got to see what she eats. This will help us prepare for when we go pick her up. It was all mush. It reminded us of Gerber 3rd stage foods, so we'll probably bring some of that back with us. One of the challenges we will face is not being able to prepare the foods that she is used to.
After our morning visit we went back down to the pedestrian area at lunch and ate in a little nicer of a place. I had two small salads. I couldn't decide, so I ordered both.
Rob had pork and we got a small bottle of wine. The manager was our server, I suppose because he is the one that speaks english, and he opened the first bottle, didn't like the cork and took it back. He came with a second bottle, which he opened, poured himself a little glass and took a taste before he poured ours. He told us to wait five minutes to let it breath and walked away. A couple of minutes later, he came back saying our wine was not good and wisked our bottle away and brought a different brand. When he took it back, Rob said, "He doesn't know we sometimes drink wine from a box." After lunch, we walked to the Turkish Bakery that is so popular among adopted families who visit Burgas. The lady didn't speak very good english, but when rob said we were looking for something sweet, she said, "Dis." And pointed to a pastry looking thing in the back. "Dis ... sugar." We bought one and walked out. When we got back to the hotel we realized it was plachenda, a German pastry my mom and her sisters make once a year around Halloween. It's pumpkin and sugar wrapped in a pastry shell. It had a sprinkle of sugar on it. It wasn't quite what we were looking for (I was thinking chocolate), but still good.
Before our case worker picked us up, we Facetimed the boys. We've been calling them at 3pm, which is 7am central time. It's been working out well. We have commented so many times how amazing technology is. It is so hard to believe that we have been so connected to everything at home. Having a Facebook group has been a great way to quickly update and create a memory log for ourselves. Facetime has been a great way to connect with the boys and our parents and having multiple camera options has allowed us options. With our phones we have been able to subtly take photos and videos in places where we didn't want to have the big camera out. Also, Anche was scared by the large camera and the loud clicking it made. It's worked out beautifully.
Our afternoon visit we spent outside pushing Anche in the stroller. She is definitely more irritable in the afternoon, but we aren't there long...only about one hour. She loves the outdoors and especially loves trees and plants. We think Auntie Beth will have a lot to teach her and they will share in their love of trees.
In the evening we walked down on the beach and picked seashells and waded in the Black Sea. It was cold, but manageable. We ate at a restaurant right by the water that was a little nicer. The food was so good and the bread here is delicious. I ordered Tarator soup which is a traditional Bulgarian cold soup made of yogurt, cucumber and dill. I have seen it in a few Bulgarian cookbooks so I figured I should try it. I'll let the pictures describe what i thought of it. The first photo is when they first brought it to me and the second is when I sent it away.
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