So, we got up at 3:00 in the morning Beijing time, hopped on a plane to Hong Kong, hopped on a plane to LA, and then hopped on a plane to Denver to get here at about 4:00 pm Denver time. Granted, there was a line or two to stand in as we waited to transfer airline companies, gather luggage, board planes, and naturalize a foreign citizen.
Forgive us if today's post is a bit short, but we've been "on" for just too long today, if you can even call it today at this point.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
All Good Things...
My apologies in advance for the brevity of this post, but I must pack for our exodus from the People's Republic of China. My wife, having taken some allergy medicine, is surprisingly passed out on the bed as I write this.
To begin today, we all went down to the Guangzhou zoo to have a little peek at the animals, especially the oh-so famous pandas. Katie and I saw the pandas in their Chengdu habitat about eight years ago, and we thought they were the laziest, most annoying mascot the WWF could have possibly picked ("They're too lazy to procreate?"we asked in disgust), but Jonah was interested, so away we went.
All we could say was "Erm... maybe they're dieting, Jonah" as we walked past emaciated animal after animal in their cages on the way to the pandas. Not the most uplifting trip, to say the least. Finally, when we made it to the pandas, there was one just sitting there in the middle of his cage, just chillin'. By then, Jonah had pretty much lost interest, anyway, so we headed back to the entrance, none too impressed.
Cheryl, our good friend from the Colorado via Newcastle, had to catch her flight right after we got back. She was invaluable in helping with so many things, and we were really sad to be saying goodbye to her after spending so much time together and relying on her so much.
In the afternoon, we all packed in to the consulate and swore that we wouldn't abandon our newly adopted child, which meant that the US gov't could give us his visa to enter the country. Having never seen a US visa before, I gotta say that it's one thing the US does right. I mean, you look at the US Dollar vs. the British Pound, or something, and you're, like, "What, creativity taking some time off that day, America?" Not so with the visa. That's something that a foreign national can look at in his or her passport and really look forward to using... until they visit any number of major cities at night, that is...
Anyway, back to packing some luggage. At this point, I'm just throwing crap into suitcases knowing that there is no such thing as clean and dirty at this point, and that we're all really looking forward to getting the Sam Hill home. We make a 30 minute hop to Hong Kong, a 12-hour marathon / skip to LAX, and then a little jump to DIA where our good friend will be waiting to drive us home and subsequently disinfect her vehicle.
Selfcrest, out!
To begin today, we all went down to the Guangzhou zoo to have a little peek at the animals, especially the oh-so famous pandas. Katie and I saw the pandas in their Chengdu habitat about eight years ago, and we thought they were the laziest, most annoying mascot the WWF could have possibly picked ("They're too lazy to procreate?"we asked in disgust), but Jonah was interested, so away we went.
All we could say was "Erm... maybe they're dieting, Jonah" as we walked past emaciated animal after animal in their cages on the way to the pandas. Not the most uplifting trip, to say the least. Finally, when we made it to the pandas, there was one just sitting there in the middle of his cage, just chillin'. By then, Jonah had pretty much lost interest, anyway, so we headed back to the entrance, none too impressed.
Cheryl, our good friend from the Colorado via Newcastle, had to catch her flight right after we got back. She was invaluable in helping with so many things, and we were really sad to be saying goodbye to her after spending so much time together and relying on her so much.
In the afternoon, we all packed in to the consulate and swore that we wouldn't abandon our newly adopted child, which meant that the US gov't could give us his visa to enter the country. Having never seen a US visa before, I gotta say that it's one thing the US does right. I mean, you look at the US Dollar vs. the British Pound, or something, and you're, like, "What, creativity taking some time off that day, America?" Not so with the visa. That's something that a foreign national can look at in his or her passport and really look forward to using... until they visit any number of major cities at night, that is...
Anyway, back to packing some luggage. At this point, I'm just throwing crap into suitcases knowing that there is no such thing as clean and dirty at this point, and that we're all really looking forward to getting the Sam Hill home. We make a 30 minute hop to Hong Kong, a 12-hour marathon / skip to LAX, and then a little jump to DIA where our good friend will be waiting to drive us home and subsequently disinfect her vehicle.
Selfcrest, out!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Red Couch
So, today was the big day for the Red Couch photo. For those of you scoring at home who may not know the power of the Red Couch, let me lay it down for you. Legend has it that at the White Swan hotel, on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, there was once a Red Couch. Upon that Red Couch were put some of the first adopted children for a photo. Regardless of the mist that time has put upon this tangled history, today was our day to join in on this special event.
We took our little guys down to the White Swan dressed in their finest attire and snapped away like mad.
After we did a little quesadilla lunch (a favorite of the blond one), we headed back to the hotel for some nap time and then a little walk off the island to the nice little chunk of Guangzhou paved over as a pedestrian mall. Quite the mall is is, too, and one that the local population obviously takes much pride in.
All in all a lovely day. We also found out that our visa paperwork was all good, so that means we're off to the consulate tomorrow for the oath ceremony, our last step in the whole visit. Thursday morning, we fly back across the ocean.
We took our little guys down to the White Swan dressed in their finest attire and snapped away like mad.
After we did a little quesadilla lunch (a favorite of the blond one), we headed back to the hotel for some nap time and then a little walk off the island to the nice little chunk of Guangzhou paved over as a pedestrian mall. Quite the mall is is, too, and one that the local population obviously takes much pride in.
All in all a lovely day. We also found out that our visa paperwork was all good, so that means we're off to the consulate tomorrow for the oath ceremony, our last step in the whole visit. Thursday morning, we fly back across the ocean.
Monday, February 25, 2008
One step closer to bringing home Grady
This morning, Katie went to the guide's room to fill out the paperwork necessary for Grady's US Visa. Ryan, Cheryl, Jonah, and Grady went to play in the playroom at the White Swan with some other families from our agency.
Jonah really does like Grady. He was worried that we were going to leave him in Lanzhou. When we were packing to leave for Guangzhou, Jonah wanted to know if we were going to leave Grady there. Then he wanted to know if we were going to leave him on the plane. I told him not to worry, and that he was in our family now and we won't leave him anywhere. We already went through the things we have at home for Grady: a car seat, a high chair, two little kid beds (a Pack N Play and a crib). This morning, he was whispering things to Grady. We're pretty sure that they're going to be joint conspirators against us soon.
In the afternoon, we went to get Grady's Visa photo and then took him for his physical examination. Cheryl stayed back and napped with Jonah (it's impossible not to fall asleep next to that kid if you are next to him in a hotel room...he radiates so much heat!!). When I told Jonah that we were taking Grady to the doctor, Jonah wanted to know if they were going to fix the hole in Grady's mouth, and I told him not yet. Jonah is so protective of him. Here are some pictures from the doctor's visit.
Grady has been sitting up for longer and longer periods as well...although he does fuss a little about it. Here's a picture of the little cutey.
Tomorrow, our guide, Grace, takes all the paperwork to the Consulate for us. After that, all we need to do it the oath and we will be able to leave China with our son!
Jonah really does like Grady. He was worried that we were going to leave him in Lanzhou. When we were packing to leave for Guangzhou, Jonah wanted to know if we were going to leave Grady there. Then he wanted to know if we were going to leave him on the plane. I told him not to worry, and that he was in our family now and we won't leave him anywhere. We already went through the things we have at home for Grady: a car seat, a high chair, two little kid beds (a Pack N Play and a crib). This morning, he was whispering things to Grady. We're pretty sure that they're going to be joint conspirators against us soon.In the afternoon, we went to get Grady's Visa photo and then took him for his physical examination. Cheryl stayed back and napped with Jonah (it's impossible not to fall asleep next to that kid if you are next to him in a hotel room...he radiates so much heat!!). When I told Jonah that we were taking Grady to the doctor, Jonah wanted to know if they were going to fix the hole in Grady's mouth, and I told him not yet. Jonah is so protective of him. Here are some pictures from the doctor's visit.
Grady has been sitting up for longer and longer periods as well...although he does fuss a little about it. Here's a picture of the little cutey.
Tomorrow, our guide, Grace, takes all the paperwork to the Consulate for us. After that, all we need to do it the oath and we will be able to leave China with our son!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Hooray for humidity!
Cheryl got here in the middle of the night last night just as we had hoped (mentioned in the last post). It is so nice to be here all together!
Also, it's lovely to be here in Guangzhou. It is humid and nice here in southern China in February (we're grateful to not be here in August). We were able to get out in the warm rain today. So pleasant!
We got up nice and early like always (the life of parents!) and went with the group on the bus to see a Buddhist temple, a cultural house called The Old Chen house, and shopping (I really wanted to get traditional Chinese outfits for the boys...I'll try to dress them up and post pics of that soon!)
Ryan also got us Starbucks during the boys' naps (so far we are able to get them to take naps together.....yay!), and we went out with the group to an excellent Thai Restaurant. Since we're in a total rut of what to eat at Thai restaurants, the four of us (Grady doesn't eat table food yet) shared some excellent Pud Thai and Massaman curry...I think Cheryl likes the old Self Thai favorites!!
As promised yesterday, here are some pictures from today:
This is Ryan and Jonah enjoying the pleasant atmosphere when we were at the temple.
While we were at the temple, Grady fell asleep on me. It is heaven to be holding that kid and taking care of him after waiting for him for so long!!
What a good daddy!!
This little boy is definitely getting more comfortable with us!
Hungry little boy wearing his daddy's hat
This is especially for Grandpa George...he's already a little baseball player!
Also, it's lovely to be here in Guangzhou. It is humid and nice here in southern China in February (we're grateful to not be here in August). We were able to get out in the warm rain today. So pleasant!
We got up nice and early like always (the life of parents!) and went with the group on the bus to see a Buddhist temple, a cultural house called The Old Chen house, and shopping (I really wanted to get traditional Chinese outfits for the boys...I'll try to dress them up and post pics of that soon!)
Ryan also got us Starbucks during the boys' naps (so far we are able to get them to take naps together.....yay!), and we went out with the group to an excellent Thai Restaurant. Since we're in a total rut of what to eat at Thai restaurants, the four of us (Grady doesn't eat table food yet) shared some excellent Pud Thai and Massaman curry...I think Cheryl likes the old Self Thai favorites!!
As promised yesterday, here are some pictures from today:
This is Ryan and Jonah enjoying the pleasant atmosphere when we were at the temple.
While we were at the temple, Grady fell asleep on me. It is heaven to be holding that kid and taking care of him after waiting for him for so long!!
What a good daddy!!
This little boy is definitely getting more comfortable with us!
Hungry little boy wearing his daddy's hat
This is especially for Grandpa George...he's already a little baseball player!Tomorrow morning, Katie will work with the guide and other families from our group to get all of the paperwork for Grady's visa together. The plan for now is for Ryan, Cheryl, Jonah, and Grady to go to the park playground during this. In the afternoon, Cheryl will stay at the hotel while Jonah has his nap, and we will go to get Grady's physical and his visa photo done. After all of this, our guide Grace will take all these things to our consulate appointment on Tuesday. We're not going to be here very much longer..we're leaving early Thursday morning...so we'll see many of you Coloradoans soon, and you know we will definitely come back to the great country of China in the future!!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Guangzhou
Thank the Lord we have made it to Guangzhou!!!! Cheryl isn't here yet, but will be here at about 1 am. It is SO wonderful to be here! First of all, it is the last step in our journey before we make the long trek home as a family of four (all Americans come to Guangzhou to satisfy the American citizenship requirements of their adopted Chinese children at the US consulate here). Jonah especially is extremely excited to be back home to his own bed, his food, his friends, his toys, etc. Also, Ryan and I as we were being driven to Shamian Island (in Guangzhou where all the expensive hotels are - we're staying at one near the consulate) both noticed that Guangzhou is quite similar to Shanghai. Of course we adore Shanghai...the part of China where we used to live, and so that is something that we really like about Guangzhou.
It is darn good to be out of Lanzhou. There really isn't much to do there at all, and we had to stay there for awhile to wait for everything that we needed to have processed to finish. Of course, that is where Grady officially became our son (adoption date 2/18/08), so that does make it special. As a side note, for any adoptive parents reading this who will be going to Lanzhou to complete their adoption, my word of advice is: BRING SHORTS AND A COUPLE OF TEE SHIRTS (even in the winter)!!! Yes, it is cold in that part of China, but at the Sunshine Plaza hotel, they keep the heat up!! And since you will be there with at least one young child, you will be spending plenty of time in that hotel, and you will want some clothes to keep cool. I'm telling you, I'm writing this from my nicely air conditioned room at the Victory Hotel here in Guangzhou, and boy does it feel good to this long sleeved shirt wearing mama!!!
We had more adventure than we would have liked leaving Lanzhou. Our flight was supposed to leave at 4:10 pm. The guide, Yisha, told us to be ready to leave at 2. Since it is 45 min-1 hour to get to the Lanzhou airport from where we were staying, this seemed strange. Then she told us to be ready at 1:30. Then at 1:10, when we were in the room getting the boys ready for the flight (diaper for one, potty for the other, etc - we were planning to be down checking out by 1;15), the bellboys knocked on the door and told us to go down right then. We were downstairs before the other family (who I'm assuming was following the schedule which we were previously given). After we checked out and loaded into the bus, the bus driver drove way out of the way to get more gas. Then we got to the airport. Then the real fun began. Yisha took our passports and went to check us in. You had to buy the infant lap tickets (one for our family, two for the other - they brought their 14 month old son and were adopting a 12 month old) in a different place than Jonah's child ticket and our adult tickets. After running around all over the place with this other guy who was from a travel agency and was supposedly helping Yisha get the tickets, she came back over minus one infant and one adult ticket. So, she loaded us all over to the security area (6 adults, three babies, and one three year old). We were waiting for the rest of the tickets. Yisha and the other guy were running between counters, and somehow got the wrong tickets again. We knew that there was a direct flight from Lanzhou to Guangzhou leaving at 8:30pm, so we were thinking that maybe the people with correct tickets could go through security and hopefully get on the plane (this flight had a stopover in Xi'an and was supposed to arrive in Guangzhou at around 8:30 pm) and the others could come on the later flight. By this time, we were lucky to have not missed the flight but heard over the intercom that the flight was delayed one hour. So, everyone but Cheryl, Grady, and Katie went through security. More running around. One guy was demanding that we re-buy the tickets and Yisha was adamant that we not spend any more money. Finally, we had boarding passes. While going through security, Grady had to be wanded by the security guard, and every carryon bag that we had had to be opened and resent through security. During all of this chaos, Yisha is yelling to me from the other side of security that there is a problem with our boarding passes, but some guy from the airlines will be at the gate to get everything straightened out. Yeah right. So we get to the gate, and the other family isn't being let on the plane because their boarding passes aren't coming up as valid. I got Jonah, Grady, and I got through and took them onto the plane because they are both tired (missed naps) and hungry. Ryan stayed back to help the other family since he speaks some Chinese. I got on the plane a little teary eyed from the ordeal, and convinced some people to move so that our family can be together. At the last minute, everyone but Cheryl, Dean (the father in the other family), and their newly adopted daughter Mia got on the plane. There is an extra seat (but not enough for both adults). Apparently, Dean's boarding pass eventually worked, but they wouldn't let him on the plane with Mia because hers didn't and so he and Cheryl stayed behind with her. Ryan tells me that he told them to go find Yisha who was taking a plane to Shanghai. I also knew that Cheryl had the emergency phone numbers given to us by our agency. However, Dean didn't have the bottles, formula, diapers, etc. for Mia. Sheesh!!!!!
So, when we got into Guangzhou, and were pleasantly surprised to see that our luggage had arrived as well (we were seriously doubting it), we immediately asked the guide here, Grace, about Dean, Cheryl, and Mia. She tells us that Yisha called and said that they should be on the flight arriving shortly after midnight and should be getting to the hotel around 1. I really hope so!!!
Tomorrow if we wake up in time, we'll go explore the city a bit. We have never been here before. There isn't any official business to be completed until Monday. I will also include some pictures in tomorrow's post. For now, though, there has been enough excitement, and I will try to sleep some while the boys are, too.
It is darn good to be out of Lanzhou. There really isn't much to do there at all, and we had to stay there for awhile to wait for everything that we needed to have processed to finish. Of course, that is where Grady officially became our son (adoption date 2/18/08), so that does make it special. As a side note, for any adoptive parents reading this who will be going to Lanzhou to complete their adoption, my word of advice is: BRING SHORTS AND A COUPLE OF TEE SHIRTS (even in the winter)!!! Yes, it is cold in that part of China, but at the Sunshine Plaza hotel, they keep the heat up!! And since you will be there with at least one young child, you will be spending plenty of time in that hotel, and you will want some clothes to keep cool. I'm telling you, I'm writing this from my nicely air conditioned room at the Victory Hotel here in Guangzhou, and boy does it feel good to this long sleeved shirt wearing mama!!!
We had more adventure than we would have liked leaving Lanzhou. Our flight was supposed to leave at 4:10 pm. The guide, Yisha, told us to be ready to leave at 2. Since it is 45 min-1 hour to get to the Lanzhou airport from where we were staying, this seemed strange. Then she told us to be ready at 1:30. Then at 1:10, when we were in the room getting the boys ready for the flight (diaper for one, potty for the other, etc - we were planning to be down checking out by 1;15), the bellboys knocked on the door and told us to go down right then. We were downstairs before the other family (who I'm assuming was following the schedule which we were previously given). After we checked out and loaded into the bus, the bus driver drove way out of the way to get more gas. Then we got to the airport. Then the real fun began. Yisha took our passports and went to check us in. You had to buy the infant lap tickets (one for our family, two for the other - they brought their 14 month old son and were adopting a 12 month old) in a different place than Jonah's child ticket and our adult tickets. After running around all over the place with this other guy who was from a travel agency and was supposedly helping Yisha get the tickets, she came back over minus one infant and one adult ticket. So, she loaded us all over to the security area (6 adults, three babies, and one three year old). We were waiting for the rest of the tickets. Yisha and the other guy were running between counters, and somehow got the wrong tickets again. We knew that there was a direct flight from Lanzhou to Guangzhou leaving at 8:30pm, so we were thinking that maybe the people with correct tickets could go through security and hopefully get on the plane (this flight had a stopover in Xi'an and was supposed to arrive in Guangzhou at around 8:30 pm) and the others could come on the later flight. By this time, we were lucky to have not missed the flight but heard over the intercom that the flight was delayed one hour. So, everyone but Cheryl, Grady, and Katie went through security. More running around. One guy was demanding that we re-buy the tickets and Yisha was adamant that we not spend any more money. Finally, we had boarding passes. While going through security, Grady had to be wanded by the security guard, and every carryon bag that we had had to be opened and resent through security. During all of this chaos, Yisha is yelling to me from the other side of security that there is a problem with our boarding passes, but some guy from the airlines will be at the gate to get everything straightened out. Yeah right. So we get to the gate, and the other family isn't being let on the plane because their boarding passes aren't coming up as valid. I got Jonah, Grady, and I got through and took them onto the plane because they are both tired (missed naps) and hungry. Ryan stayed back to help the other family since he speaks some Chinese. I got on the plane a little teary eyed from the ordeal, and convinced some people to move so that our family can be together. At the last minute, everyone but Cheryl, Dean (the father in the other family), and their newly adopted daughter Mia got on the plane. There is an extra seat (but not enough for both adults). Apparently, Dean's boarding pass eventually worked, but they wouldn't let him on the plane with Mia because hers didn't and so he and Cheryl stayed behind with her. Ryan tells me that he told them to go find Yisha who was taking a plane to Shanghai. I also knew that Cheryl had the emergency phone numbers given to us by our agency. However, Dean didn't have the bottles, formula, diapers, etc. for Mia. Sheesh!!!!!
So, when we got into Guangzhou, and were pleasantly surprised to see that our luggage had arrived as well (we were seriously doubting it), we immediately asked the guide here, Grace, about Dean, Cheryl, and Mia. She tells us that Yisha called and said that they should be on the flight arriving shortly after midnight and should be getting to the hotel around 1. I really hope so!!!
Tomorrow if we wake up in time, we'll go explore the city a bit. We have never been here before. There isn't any official business to be completed until Monday. I will also include some pictures in tomorrow's post. For now, though, there has been enough excitement, and I will try to sleep some while the boys are, too.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday
I know it's Friday because the carpet in the elevator says so. Everyday, the wonderful people here at the Sunshine Plaza change the elevator carpet to meet the stringent naming requirements of the day. Today was supposed to be the day we got Grady's Chinese passport, and, thankfully, things went off without a hitch. We need that Chinese passport to get his American passport on our last and final leg of the trip, which starts tomorrow when we fly to Guangzhou.
Apart from that, we didn't do a whole lot, honestly. Jonah and Grady took long naps, Ryan and Cheryl took half-asleep semi-naps with them, and we didn't leave the hotel. I think the guide, Yisha, thinks we're a bit lame. The other family here went out for a trip to the museum, but we didn't really think that the kiddos would be that interested in seeing fossils and relic coins. I mean, Jonah has really been into Qin-era legalism and it's roots in the Lanzhou area as opposed to the more commonly assumed Confucian relationships that are assumed to have driven the first emperor of China, but he just didn't seem up to it today.
With that, I leave you video of the day's events:
Apart from that, we didn't do a whole lot, honestly. Jonah and Grady took long naps, Ryan and Cheryl took half-asleep semi-naps with them, and we didn't leave the hotel. I think the guide, Yisha, thinks we're a bit lame. The other family here went out for a trip to the museum, but we didn't really think that the kiddos would be that interested in seeing fossils and relic coins. I mean, Jonah has really been into Qin-era legalism and it's roots in the Lanzhou area as opposed to the more commonly assumed Confucian relationships that are assumed to have driven the first emperor of China, but he just didn't seem up to it today.
With that, I leave you video of the day's events:
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