Meeting Niranjana

This was a big day for us. The biggest and most important so far in this long journey we've taken.

Today, we met our daughter.

We started in Dehli. After breakfast, we went to the airport and had a relatively easy time getting through security and onto the plane. In fact, it wasn't much worse than most U.S. flights - once you realize personal space isn't an issue in a nation of 1 billion people. Everyone is close together.

Once in Chennai, we quickly learned how hot it can be. It was somewhere around 38 Celsius, better than 100 Fahrenheit. And this wasn't a dry heat. Toss in some good old East Coast humidity and you have the recipe for Chennai: hot and sticky.

All of this would not have been so bad if the driver who met us hadn't tried to cram the three of us and our eight bags into a Suzuki Esteem, which isn't much bigger than a Smart Car. We tried every which way to get all of us and our bags (two of which were filled with orphanage donations) into the car, to the point at which I began to realize what it felt like to be a clown at a Shriner circus. Finally, we gave up and our driver went off to get something a little bigger. Considering we've seen up to four people on a scooter the size of a moped (and my mom has seen five), I guess they figured it would be no big deal for us.

We got to the hotel around 2:30 p.m. and got settled in. We called Kamala, who is a social worker for the orphanage (and whose voice we've heard on the videos of Niranjana for the past year). She and the driver came by at about 4 p.m. to take us to the orphanage. Everything started to go fast forward as we realized we were a few minutes away from meeting our little girl.

As we pulled into the orphanage, music was blaring and children were learning to dance in a dirt area next to the driveway. Niranjana was not among them, and we headed up to the third floor. An Indian couple was adopting an infant and taking her home as we arrived. Even with the language barrier, we had an instant connection as we were both adding to our family. Then Niranjana came onto the scene - and was instantly whisked into an office. We had to wait a few more excruciating minutes to actually meet her.

Then we were all together. She seemed very nervous but warmed up slightly when Melissa gave her a stuffed pink elephant. She held my hand for a moment, even squeezed my finger a bit. Then she took Melissa's hand for a moment as we went into one room to sit down, then into an office. She sat in a chair between us as I stroked her back and we tried to engage her. She seemed focused on the elephant and was a bit nervous having the white people surrounding her. We got her to sing a little bit (she'd been taught some Sunday School-type songs). A few of her friends showed up, and they all sang a couple of songs for us, complete with hand motions.

After the concert, she was back in the chair. I couldn't stand it much longer, so I picked her up to see if she would sit on my knee. She didn't squirm or try to get away, though she kept giving me sideways glances. She focused in on the elephant and the piece of candy one of the caregivers handed her. Melissa wanted to know if she could hold her for a bit. No way. I finally gave her up for about 20 minutes, during which time, Melissa got her to sing a little and even had her repeat her numbers up to 11. Turns out she's in a Montessori-type program for a few hours per day. She knows just a few words and phrases in English (including her own rendition of, "This is the Day that the Lord Has Made").

I couldn't stand it much longer, so I got her back on my lap, and she sat quietly there for at least another 20 minutes. She seemed to get a little more comfortable with me, and the caregivers were pleased she wasn't running off or freaking out, so that's a good sign. Finally, it was after 6 p.m. and people had to go home, so we said goodbye and she waved to us and headed off to have her dinner and go to bed.

Tomorrow, we meet with the man who runs the Guild of Service at 10 a.m., then swing back to the hotel to pick up my mom and head back over to the orphanage. Depending on how Niranjana reacts and how quickly she gets used to us, we could begin bringing her back to the hotel with us in the next day or two. We certainly don't want to rush that because we want her to feel safe and trusting.