Okay...it is the middle of the night here and I am still letting the events of the day unfold in my mind. The title of this post says it all though.
Surreal is by definition, having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.
I think that pretty much sums it up.
We were delayed in getting to our hotel from the airport due to a torrential downpour and the fact that we were greeted by a wonderful man with a very tiny car with no trunk. I think we blew his mind with the volume of luggage we had with us. Of course it is at least 30% donations, and there are four of us, but still we had to wait out the rains and make two trips to the hotel. Once we arrived and got settled in it was not good timing to head to Basundhara so we ordered lunch. After lunch, we made our way to Basundhara Children's home.
Basundhara is located in the city of Cuttack, about 29 km from the capital, Bhubaneswar, where we are staying. However, it takes almost an hour to travel those 18 or so miles due to the traffic and the frequent cow in the road. We arrived at the gates and were then escorted to the office. From there we were taken by a lovely young woman to a room that would be more private so that we could meet Tarini.
We were not in the room long before Tarini was brought in with her housemother and several other caregivers. She had the biggest smile on her face and was clutching a picture of Eric and I as she rushed over to us and gave us big hugs. We were told that she carries the picture with her and it definitely shows. It has been held by her sweet hands for these many months and is such an interesting parallel to the way we have clung to pictures of her for so long.
She was all smiles as we showed her pictures of home and her room. Everyone was very excited to see pictures that had been taken by other families this year; asking how we got them. Everyone was so warm and gracious and we and Tarini were handled with great care as we got to know each other.
I thought Tarini might like to see herself on camera, so I took her picture and then showed her the image. Thus began the most amazing thing. She went about taking pictures as if though something was pulling her. She took pictures of all of us, many times I might add, and her friends and the ceiling and the floor and everyone we encountered. She experimented with taking her own picture in the mirror(see evidence below), and amazingly, her photographing skills improved with every picture she took. Images started out at her eye level and she gradually progressed to framing the shots with much ease. So...I have about twenty pictures taken by us and oh, about three hundred by Tarini. :)
I think we will be ordering her a fancy new pink camera from Samsung as soon as we get home. Gotta love Daddy's company!
So, as Tarini took pictures she became more and more comfortable with us and began including us in what she was doing. At one point, the other children were taking her photo album and she was not having any of that. She decided that it would be safe with me and from then on, she would call for mommy to hold either the album or the camera for her. Once she had exhausted all of the picture taking opportunities in the private room she ventured out onto the walkways around the building. Which was excellent timing as our "private" room was not private for long. Children of all ages trickled in until, by the sheer volume of all of us in the room, it became necessary to move out onto the walkways.
We were given permission to go to the playground and as we made our way there, we were joined by more children. The playground was wonderful chaos; happy children playing to their heart's content and all very excited to talk to Tarini and her family. The children called me Auntie and would call it out just to make me look. They would smile and then do it again minutes later. Tarini continued taking pictures and showing her friends the photo album. We played for what seemed like hours until dusk began to fall and the mosquitos started to come out.
Saying goodbye, even if just for a day, was very hard for all of us. We had Akshaya, who is very close with Tarini, explain to her that we would be back tomorrow. Many hugs and kisses were exchanged and we slowly made our way to the gates. As we were walking and waving goodbye, Tarini was being ushered along with the other children. All of a sudden, she came running right towards me, never taking her eyes from mine, and literally jumped into my arms. She held me so tight, with her sweet head nestled in tightly to my neck. I finally put her down, but it was so hard to walk away. It brought me back to our first trip to Russia to meet Benjamin. We knew we would have to leave him and come back weeks later for court, but knowing doesn't ease the very real pain of leaving your child.
We will be going to Basundhara tomorrow, Friday, for the day and will hopefully bring our little girl back to our hotel the same evening. We will update as we can, but for now, enjoy the very few pictures we took and the many Tarini took. :)
The most beautiful hands in the world.
Self portrait of feet by Tarini.
Getting to know each other and bonding over pictures of their respective rooms.
Tired but blissful!
Daddy enjoying one of Tarini's warm embraces.
One very happy and fulfilled Daddy.
Grandma and Tarini sharing a moment.
Benjamin had so much fun making sand castles with the children on the playground. He also went down the slide at least a thousand times. :)
A few pictures by our budding photographer.
Tarini took her picture in the mirror several times, but kept getting the flash. We helped her out a little and she was very pleased when she saw herself in the mirror in the picture.
"I can't believe my Rini is taking my picture."
Playground
Inner courtyard
Basundhara Children's Home
Dear Ben, Tarini, Uncle Eric and Aunt Tara,
Thanks for updating your blog. it's so awesome to see pictures of my new cousin, Tarini. I miss you and hope you get back safely. Say hi to "Rini" for me!!
Emily :)
We loved your writing Tara-you are quite talented! We were laughing out loud at the events of the day. Love the fact that we can be so far away yet feel like we are sharing it with you. Looking forward to meeting Tarini and seeing Ben again!
Love,
Andrea
I can't wait to see Tarini-I'm sure she will love Sadie. tell Ben and Gussie I said hi.
Love, nicole and sadie (woof)
So happy for you all! What a beautiful family!!! Congratulations!!!
Kristine
So, another picture nut in the family. Grandma sure has fallen in love with Tarini and I can see why.
Very loving and sweet I would say.
The Children's home sure looks large, are there many children there?
Grandpa
What absolutely amazing pictures and how fantastic that she was so warm and loving toward you. I have major tears in my eyes!
Tara! I love, love, love the pictures; and your post made me feel like I was in India with you guys. What a wonderful day! I can't wait to hear more...this is soo making me want to get back into an Indian adoption. ;) She is beautiful, and the four of you make a gorgeous family!!! Hugs to you guys!
Oh the tears are flowing this morning! How can I be so happy for an "internet friend"......no idea but I am!!!!
She looks so great!!! Looking forward to talking a bit when you get home!!!!
Jennifer
Well I have finally conquered the computer and am looking at these pictures of my family, I am in awww of my neice, she is beyond beautiful and we can see the kindness in her eyes. We love you all so much and cannot wait to give her a big hug. Kiss my baby boy for me and be safe. Love always, Heather P.S. Tell Rini that I love the picture of her in the mirror very nice!