Today we leave Taiwan and head back to Los Angeles. For Ava, this is the start of a new journey, a journey where she leaves her past behind, her memories of the nursery and the nannies, and starts a new life with us. It is time to say goodbye to Taiwan.

Taiwan is truly a wonderful country. It is so interesting to see the culture there, similar in a way to India, and yet unique in its own way. The people have been very nice and genuinely friendly. The entire experience starting with the taxi drivers, the hotel staff, and St. Lucy nursery staff has been truly wonderful. We seemed to fit in perfectly (except for the language) at least until we got Ava. After that we got quite a few stares but no one said any mean things. We will definitely take a vacation to Taiwan sometime in the future when our baby is able to appreciate the finer points of her birth country!

We were happy to see the nursery, it is brightly lit and looks nice. We were lucky to get a complete tour of the nursery. There were a bunch of kids in their cribs and some were playing on the foam thingy that they have for kids. There were about 8-9 nannies there, and the kids seem to really like them. The interpreter told us that the nannies are on three shifts, so there is always someone with the kids. She said there are currently about 40 kids totally there, but some of them are in the under 3-month room, which has its own set of nannies. Of course, being an institution, the kids cannot get the one on one they like and need, but we really think St. Lucy’s is good compared to other institutions. The kids get turns to be on the floor and get play time. There were toys like a walker near them, so I think they get some play time every day. At 8 months, Ava is on target with most of her milestones, she crawls and sits without support if we get her into position, and babbles.

Thank you St. Lucy nursery staff for taking care of our baby for the first 8 months of her life. Thank you Taiwan for giving us the opportunity to adopt one of your children.