[GCS]

The poverty in the smaller towns was surprising to us. I always tell people that we can not imagine living like this - that there is no comparison here. And the winters were so cold. To live without heat in small shacks and no running water. It was shocking.

I remember at first being angry that my son was abandoned on a cold (19 degree) day on the street at only 2 and a half and poorly dressed. But after understanding how poor the outlying areas are, I have to believe his first mother did the best she could for as long as she could. It’s hard to understand it until you see it. So I am glad I know this now and I can be sure that he understands later in life how hard she must have worked to keep him safe and healthy those first years.

Also surprising to us was the pollution. We walked the town a lot and we would come in with grit on us from the air. We walked over a creek and a river and both were filled with debris. That was very sad.

Lastly, we were surprised at how impractically the young women dressed. Very high thin heeled boots in the winter on those terrible roads. And they walked everywhere in them. I could not do that and I am a heel wearing girl.