The Maoming Welfare Institute

The orphanage where our girl currently resides is not the kind of Dickensian horror that one might have feared--a Google search led me to the Institute's website and it appears to be quite lovely. Depending on which web browser you use, the text may be difficult to read in places, but following the links leads to pictures that show a very clean and cheerful place. This map shows that the city of Maoming is to the southwest of Guangzhou, closer to the city of Zhangjiang; here's a larger map.

Also, I just want to point out how proud I am that I finally learned how to incorporate links into text, and on my first entry here! Go me!

Preparations for the trip continue, along with the last of the baby-proofing. I'm working on various loose ends, too, like getting together our tax documents and talking to various loan people, as well as the architecture and building people.

Also, speaking only for myself, I'm leaning strongly toward Amelia as a first name. Ordinarily, I'd like Yuda as a first name and Amelia as a middle name, but alas that would give her the initials of YAK--speaking as someone with the initials JAW, I can understand that AYK might be a better choice. But, on the other hand, Yuda (or, if you prefer, Yu-Da, so there's still that to sort out, too) is literally her first name, so it might be ok if her initials spell a slang synonym for excessive talk or a large furry horned animal. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to, whatever.