Each day, we visit the girls twice at the orphanage. Once in the morning from 9:30am, after they've had their breakfast and are dressed, to around 12:30 when they have lunch. We then go back around 3:30 until around 6:30 when it's dinner time. The orphanage is roughly a 30 minute walk and Rosi (our amazing translator), Gunther and I thought it would be great to walk to and from our hotel to the orphanage each way. It's an amazing walk...about 10 minutes through the busy main street of the Yambol, then 10 minutes through the older part of the city where we see the babushkas, and then through this beautiful park which leads right to the entrance of the orphanage. We stop each day for lunch at cafes for super-fueled espressos, salads (the best tomatoes and Feta cheese ever)...and the Bulgarian fare for dinners which we eat each night at around 7:30pm after our afternoon visit is nothing short of culinary perfection. Gunther and I love this food...Yambol is an amazing city, full of drab communist architecture and the new beginnings.
The people are lovely and eastern euro chic.
Speaking of new beginnings, our visit with the girls today was very special. We arrived with our special treats and Fana and Yuliya came outside to us with such sweet smiles. Unfortunately little Fana was not feeling so well. Her nose was runny and she just looked a bit tired. We brought them water and fruit and yogurt treats which they ate intently and quickly. Gunther took Fana inside for quiet time since she was not feeling well and Yuliya sat with Rosi and I -- she just loves my sun glasses and loves looking at my jewelry. We have been blessed with the most beautiful weather so we just laughed and played in the sunshine.
Rosi, Gunther and I had a great salad in the town center and walked around to buy toys and goodies for our afternoon visit. We got to the orphanage at 3ish and the girls came out. Yuliya came out first as Fana was still napping. We ate our pretzals and played with the toys we brought. We brought a play phone for the girls and Yuliya loves this toy. Rosi told me that Yuliya picked up the handset to pretend she was talking with me and this is what Rosi said that she said "Hello Cheryl, I love you and I want you to take me on a plane and to be my momma." My heart grew, I felt it. We played outside -- she painted my nails and gave me a massage -- which consisted of nail polish on my finger tips and pinched cheeks. Hilarious. She is my girl.
Fana and Gunther played on the swings, walked around, and then went inside to sit quietly as she was still feeling a bit under the weather -- Fana just has a huge crush on Gunther. This is a very special girl. We will need to work with her to bring her out of her shell and we are hopeful that with love and support, she will blossom. We feel blessed to have the opportunity to be her momma and pappa. She has a fierce will and is one determined little girl -- just has a hard time expressing herself. She has the same voracious appetite as Gunther...do not try and limit her food or she'll be pissed off.
I cannot go on without acknowledging th role that our translator Rosi has made in this whole week. She has been with us from morning to night, working with us as we communicate with the girls, the doctors and caregivers at the orphanage, getting through the city...and she is and will be part of our family forever. We have come to love her and feel so blessed to have her in our lives!
So tomorrow we tell the girls that we are going to be their momma and poppa forever. The hard part will be waiting between trips to get their paperwork finalized. We love these girls so much and can't wait to get them home to start the journey of being a family.
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