It has been an interesting couple of days. Shamain Island is like a big city park surrounded by 200 year old buildings. The architecture has a strong French influence and a most opulent use of marble. The huge trees casting a canopy over the whole place make it seem even older. The island was alive with activity yesterday due to the holiday. People were walking, exercising, taking pictures, playing badminton, riding bicycles and advent napping, really just about anything to be outside.
Bella is actually still when there is a lot of activity going on around her. She can be very content watching people. That's interesting considering her brain is always moving as she tries to come up with new ways to play and do when we are in our hotel room. We wonder what she will be like when we get home and she has a room of her own and multiple rooms to explore.
We have made a list of things we notice about Bella's personality. Some of the things we've noted are that she is feisty and independent to the point it has to be impossible for her to submit and ask for help. Even then she may decide to give it another try once you get her over the current obstacle. Although independent she easily capable of dressing herself and putting her shoes on she would prefer the opportunity to play and let you do it for her. She may just choose to make getting dressed a game.
Bella has the face of an angel but the willpower of a tiger. Her personality is larger than life and she smiles easily and giggles all the time. Bella is also as sneaky as a spy and requires a close eye if she gets quiet while exploring. If we cant find something electronic or a bottle of coke the best place to start looking is under her pillow. She doesn't often enjoy sharing, although that is improving. She is tough as nails and shows no fear of anything as of yet. Again, that means keeping a close eye on her.
Trusting us seems to have come easily for her while we also notice she is trusting us more each day. We believe that trust we see is the answer to so manly prayers that her heart would be soft toward us. We don't know what to expect her to be like around our friends and family but we don't think it will take her long to transition and bond with others.
One thing we recognize is that Bella is everything you expect from a four year old. That is a tremendous blessing. Another little girl we've met named Chloe is only eight months younger than Bella. She was in an orphanage since birth and just united with her forever family a couple of days before Bella. In size and physical ability we would have guessed her to be around two years old. She doesn't speak at all yet but she does respond when you call her name. When we spoke and waved to her she would turn her head away if she began to smile. So shy. It was easy to see that, with some time and attention, there was a typical four year old inside her waiting to bloom. Bella was an encouragement to her parents who waited eight years to get her. We talked with them a good while about parenting and promised to be praying for them all.
This morning we went to the playroom after breakfast so Dale could get some much needed sleep. While there another four year old Chinese girl and her mama came in. The mom spoke a little English. Bella was shy at first but the other little girl made her feel comfortable and they played together for about an hour. She shared, took turns and played well. They talked together as they played. I'm sure that was some much needed Chinese communication for her just like Americans are for us. It was fun to watch them together.
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