(Jen here.) Today we went to visit Uralsk's institution for older orphans and children whose parents cannot care for them. Zhaus Dahren is in an old "resort" area, on the outskirts of the city. It is an entire campus in the woods - including housing, school buildings, an administration building, a soccer field, and a playground. As with everything else in Uralsk, it looks be in disrepair ( but I must be getting used to it, because it looked fine to me). There are 298 children living there - ages 7 to 17. We were certainly a curiousity - they flocked around us, smiling and saying hello in English. We gave them candy and Play Doh and stuffed animals, but they were most excited to have their pictures taken and to see them on the digital screen. They were also thrilled by the cars. Our drivers took some of them for rides up and down the driveway, and they loved it. These are extremely nice, polite children. They put American children to shame with their sense of wonder, their gratitude, and their manners.  When we visited a class, everyone stood up as soon as we entered the room and did not sit again until they were invited to do so. And we will bring back a suitcase full of gifts that some of them have made for sponsor families in the states. So much for leaving lighter - but we get to feel a bit like Santa, so it is worth it. When the airport security people ask us if anyone unknown to us has asked us to carry a package on the plane, we will have to either lie or say, "Yeah, like 15 or so different people." We will sign up to be a sponsor family when we return to the states. That way we will have a tie to the place where Benjamin was born. I'm just sorry we didn't do it earlier - then we could have met our sponsor child.