Six months after the Indian Ocean tsunami swept her home away in Thailand, Ruethairat Yangyu still cannot forget the day of unbearable sadness.

December 26 will be forever etched in her mind as the morning her parents went out to sea and never returned.

She arrived in Beijing a week ago with 11 other Thai orphans, aged 8-12, for a week-long stay. The Red Cross Society of China and Gome Home Appliances, which sponsored their trip, hoped the bright summer sunshine might play a part in driving away the shadows of losing loved ones that still haunt the children like Ruethairat.

When we saw her at the airport, the 12-year-old girl appeared quiet and withdrawn, apparently reluctant to talk to strangers.

Slight and dark, she occasionally stole a glance at the welcoming audience.

She soon spotted a young face as beautiful and as kind as the face she so well remembers her mother's smiling back at her.

It belonged to Wu Yandan, a 24-year-old nurse from the Beijing-based Second Artillery General Hospital. Wu has married and has not started a family yet. She said she hopes her nursing skills could help these orphans feel better during their Beijing trip.

She would become Ruethairat's Chinese "mother" during the child's stay in Beijing, and would become emotionally attached to Ruethairat for the rest of little girl's life.

When Ruethairat touched Wu's hand, it was too much for the young nurse to bear.

"She looked so little and helpless," Wu said, tears welling up in her eyes as she recalled the moment, "that I was deeply moved. Though a terrible tsunami had claimed her parents, it failed to remove her love and warmth."

Wu was among the dozen families selected out of the 90 families who volunteered to serve as hosts.

"To bring these children a sense of family, we sent out invitations to the families seeking to be volunteers in Beijing," said Deng Mei, an employee with the programme organizing office for the effort. "People responded very favourably."

Chinese families accompanied their little guests to go everywhere including historical sights, amusement parks, the Beijing Zoo, schools and TV stations.

During the trip, Ruethairat was carefully and gently coaxed out of her shyness.

Wherever she went, she always held her Chinese mother's hand.

June 24 was the busiest day for her.

At 9:34 in the morning, she and her Chinese "mother" boarded the bus, along with 11 other tsunami orphans and their host families.

Ruethairat sat right beside her mother, humming a Thai folksong.

Their first stop was the Beijing Zhiguang Special Education Training School.

They were warmly greeted by the school pupils, most of whom mentally handicapped children, who lined both sides of the street, to welcome the group.

"I hope they may learn that there are many others in the world much more unfortunate than them," said Principal Wang Lijuan, explaining why the orphans were invited to her school.

Along with her compatriots, Ruethairat played games with the students. They also sang and danced to traditional Thai songs.

In a handiworks and arts classroom, they were taught how to make Chinese knots.

"Though we have language barriers," said Peng Jingpeng, a student who has won national awards for his handiwork, "they are very smart and quick at learning."

Ruethairat showed great interest in this traditional Chinese art. It took her just 10 minutes to make a bracelet with red silk thread. She was so focused on her work that she couldn't break away to answer her mother's questions.

After she finished it, Wu helped to tie the bracelets' laces.

"It's very pretty," Ruethairat said. "I like it a lot, and I want to make another one for my mum."

As the lunch time arrived, the group entered the school's dining hall, where the school cook showed them how to make dumplings.

Ruethairat did not like the aromas in the room, and decided to stay outside. Five boys enjoyed the lesson, however, but they had to learn their lessons as beginner-cooks: They squeezed lots of dumpling fillings out of their wrappers.

"We're very happy to play with students in this school," said Suphattra, one of Ruethairat's orphaned friends. "Though we lost our parents, at least we have healthy bodies and minds."

They didn't join the school students for lunch. Instead, the group dined at a restaurant. Wu sat beside Ruethairat and always asked her to eat more. But Ruethairat was still thinking about the roast duck they had on the first day of their trip.

"That was the first time for me to have roast duck," she said. "In Thailand, we call it Peking duck. My Chinese mum helped me wrap the duck and fed me. That's delicious."

After lunch, they were on the road again, and their destination was the Great Wall.

In the bus, Ruethairat leaned close to Wu with her eyes half closed. As the bus stopped at the foot of the Great Wall, Ruethairat, like the other orphans, could hardly conceal her elation.

They got out of the bus, rushing to the stone steps, despite the blazing sun.

"I have heard of the Great Wall for a long time," said Ruethairat. "Now I'm at the foot of it!"

Her fellow friend Suphattra was sick from the heat, but she insisted on climbing up the meandering "dragon."

Liu Jinghong, her Chinese mother, and an officer with the People's Liberation Army, brought Suphattra ice water and fed her some medicine, sip by sip. She carried Suphattra on her back and climbed up and down the Great Wall.

"She's my daughter, and it's my responsibility to take good care of her." Liu said.

After trekking the wall, some children also tried flying kites at the foot of the wall.

"I hope kites might carry my beautiful wishes for my Chinese family and fly high to the sky," said Ruethairat.

On the way back to the hotel, Ruethairat was so tired that she did not utter a word.

Once inside the hotel room, Ruethairat took a rest while Wu started washing clothes for her. In the previous night, she also helped cut the girl's fingernails and toenails.

"I've found the trip very interesting," Ruethairat said. "And the Great Wall impressed me the most. What's more important, I've got another mum."

"I hope we can keep in touch with our children by email and telephone," said Liu.

Some parents said they would try to meet their new hild at least once every two years, either in Thailand or in China.

(China Daily 06/28/2005 page5)