It's been 3 weeks since we first met Shen Jia Wen. I don't think any of us will forget it. As Mrs. Tan brought her around the corner of the Civil Affairs office, Jia Wen looked somber. The little boy that also came in with them, Jia Xue, let out a holler. At that point, Jia Wen started crying loudly, too.
I don't remember how long the crying lasted, but it was a long, long time. Several times I wondered if she would ever be able to calm down enough to come to me. Poor baby not only cried and screamed at times when we got near, but she tried to physically get as far away as she could, too. She shook her head no and tried to push away from us.
It seemed like Jia Xue calmed down fairly quickly and began playing with toys that his new family, the Johnsons, brought for him. Not little Jia Wen. We later learned from Mrs. Tan that each time Western visitors came to the orphanage and came into her classroom, Jia Wen cried and tried to get away from them. I suppose it was no wonder then that she was so afraid of a whole family of Western people.
I'm including a video of Gotcha Day to show some of the drama. This is in no way the worst of it. Actually, as Steve was videotaping, it just became too hard to bear. He put down the camera and waited until much later when things were calmer.
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