Together At Last!

We are together at last!!

The photos from top left (though they did not post in correct order): Maya in the hotel, snoozing. This is one of the 5 seconds she has not had her adorable little thumb in her adorable little mouth!!
The top right photo is our family, with Anju - the orphanage director. The photo at left is Maya with her Ayah.

We left our hotel ~11 am to journey to the orphanage. We decided to stop by the Marble Palace on our way, as we have not done any site-seeing in Kolkata. I was very surprised by the city - it was quite large and bustling. People everywhere of course.. and shops everywhere. Many tall buildings which surprised me a bit. And of course in front of all of the buildings were the little shacks set up by street vendors and people who were living on the streets.
A few things that stick out in my memory: 2 young girls washing their hair in a drip of sewer water on the side of the road; many trees on the side streets, which were quite a contrast with the development of the main roads. And speaking of the side streets vs the main roads - what a difference! It was as if you were moving instantly from a somewhat-developed city to a completely under-developed village with the turn of a corner. Simply amazing.
We stopped at the Marble Palace and had a quick tour. I was not as impressed as I had hoped. First - no peacocks. I saw one giant pelican, but it disappeared quickly. Second, just a very odd place. A museum really - and one with no lighting, birds everywhere, and that you had to walk through barefoot. We saw some amazing art - but again it was difficult to appreciate when you were sweltering in the heat/humidity. Not even a fan in this building to move the air. And no photography allowed. I'm sure they would have allowed it for a price, but the men at this place were VERY annoying. They quoted a price to us upon entering and then would not let us leave for that price - they tripled it. Our driver negotiated down to just a little above the originally-quoted price. And then we also had to tip the guide - who wanted more and was quite vocal about it.
Anyhow- not impressed and I would not mark this place as a 'must-see' in MY tourist guide.
We drove by the Victoria Memorial and a few other interesting buildings, but did not tour anything else. We were ready to pick up Maya!

We arrived at the orphanage after passing it a couple of times, trying to locate the address. Buildings on this street were not marked well and not in order. Very confusing, but we made it!
The guards at the gate quickly brought us into the orphanage and showed us up the narrow stairway to the main room. At the bottom of the stairs (in a type of foyer area), btw, a baby was being examined by a doctor. It was a dark corner area with the baby on a small table - while the doctor was drawing blood, etc. One other woman was standing with him, holding the baby in place. I guess this is where Maya rec'd her medical treatment? Yipes.
Up the narrow dim-lighted staircase was the main floor of the orphanage. We were warmly greeted by Anju and her staff. There were several babies in ~5 or 6 cribs in the room at the stair-top. Another room held ~6 or 8 cribs and several more - very small - babies. Approximately 7 or 8 Ayahs were running hecticly around the rooms, caring for the babies. All of the babies looked very happy and well-cared for, which was very reassuring!

And then we saw her! In the middle of the room was a crib with our little sleeping angel. She had just settled in for her afternoon nap. We were instantly in love with her, before she even opened her eyes!
B/c she was sleeping, Anju took us to her office to complete the paperwork. In the meantime, Maya's Ayah woke her and took her to a different room to prepare her to leave.
We filled out some paperwork and discussed Maya's care with Anju (her diet, her temperment, etcetc). We were told that Maya is a very calm, quiet baby - only cries when she is hungry. I hope that continues! ;)

After completing the paperwork, Maya's Ayah brought her into the room to us. She was wide awake and wearing a cute clean outfit. She set Maya on my lap immediately. Maya and I just stared at each other for a few moments - her big brown eyes trying to figure out who this new person was! She promptly stuck her thumb in her mouth and settled back in my arms to check out the other stranger in the room - her daddy. :)
Soon after, I forced myself to detach Maya from my thumb (she has quite a grip!) and send her over to Daddy. They were instantly buddies, and Maya spent her time on his lap trying to grab things off of Anju's desk.

We finished the paperwork, snapped a few photos of another couple's babies (twins that they just accepted the referral of! AND they live in our town - ~5 minutes from us! The twins were in a crib next to Maya's, so I'm sure they will have a special bond forever!), snapped a few photos of us and the staff, and then we were hustled back downstairs to await our driver. It is important that they keep us well inside and out of site until the driver arrives, as the local people will see us with the baby and instantly think we are 'rich americans' with money for them. A few moments later the driver arrived and we were off to the hotel!! Maya slept the entire ride in my arms. A very un-eventful first car ride!

Now here we are and Maya has been sleeping for the past couple of hours. Hopefully she will awaken soon, so she can eat dinner. She is so darn cute that we can't stop watching her in the crib! As I type this, I can hear her on the other side of the room, slurping on her thumb in her sleep! SO CUTE!!!!
Ack - she is awake! Yay! Time for our first feeding and diaper change! :)

So that's our story so far. :) Stay tuned for updates on life with our little princess!!