Planes, Trains and Automobiles

First, I must apologize that there are no pictures to be posted for today. We spent the day traveling from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Deceivingly, the flight is only 40 minutes but... we left the hotel at 9am, the plane was delayed and we didn't land until 2ish. It took about an hour to go through entry to the country (there was a form we didn't know we needed to fill out), get our baggage, go through customs, change money to Hong Kong dollars, arrange the shuttle to the hotel and then drive to the hotel. By the time we got there we had been traveling for 7.5 hours! And all for one night in Hong Kong since we couldn't get a connection home today. The most important thing is that Hannah was a trooper and smiled or slept through a good part of our adventure.

It is overcast in Hong Kong so no trip to Victoria's peak or ride on the ferry. Next time...
We were really exhausted anyway and it took all the energy Trish, Jason, Andrew or myself had to go out to dinner (or linner- lunch and dinner combo since we didn't eat lunch today).
Sitting at dinner we realized that all 7.5 hours were worth it. We went to a little neighborhood hole in the wall that was recommended by the Lonely Planet guide book. The owner/waiter ordered for us- his top recommendations- and then he and his wife (the cashier), the waitresses and the cook fussed over Hannah and Elizabeth. They were very interested in the girls and asked a lot of questions. The owner, the "dumpling king" (and those pot stickers were delicious), told us how lucky he thought the girls were and how he, as a Chinese citizen, was very happy and very proud and glad that the girls were coming home with us. Of course, we all said in unison that we are the lucky ones!

The weather has cleared a bit and are able to look out over Victoria Harbor from our 28th story room with a view. It is full of neon and cars and cityscape and boats. What a way to end our journey here in China. We will miss it but look forward to bringing Hannah back someday so she can experience all her birth country has to offer.

Thanks to all of you who have "tuned in" for our (almost) daily reports. We love all of you and know that the second you see Hannah, you will understand why this whole trip has been so wonderful.

Michelle

Do You Solemnly Swear

All trips must slowly come to an end and ours is certainly reaching that point. While we have loved our time here in China, we both miss everyone and the pets back home. Of course, getting back means I have to return to work in a week and this is certainly the downside of leaving.

Today we experienced the last official milestone in the whole adoption process, our interview and oath ceremony at the US Consulate to get Hannah's visa. It was a teary moment despite the fact that it lasted all of 15 seconds once the consulate official asked us over the loudspeaker to stand, raise our right hand and solemnly swear that all the answers we gave on our forms were true. We collectively said yes and our daughter was free to enter the US of A on an IR3 class visa. This basically means that she can become a US citizen as soon as we touch down in the states.

Don't look for any pictures of the ceremony because we were not allowed to bring any electronic equipment of any kind into the consulate. Our bottles of water were even taken. What they didn't take was Hannah's bottle of formula. I imagine they must have learned a lesson sometime in the past after confiscating the bottles of dozens of hungry babies.

After breakfast, we took a cab to the fabric market to find backing for Hannah's 100 wishes quilt. Michelle planned all along to buy something here for it to add that special touch.

Shopping in this country is certainly a unique experience. The markets are overwhelming. There are dedicated markets here for jade, pearl, electronics, toys, fabric, etc. Walk in and you immediately suffer from choice paralysis. Multi-floor buildings teaming with small stalls, each overflowing with merchandise and people browsing, bargaining, and buying.

Since we wanted to walk home from the market, we put Hannah in a carrier on Michelle's back. It was loaned to us by friends that made the trip to China last November to pick up their daughter. It worked great. She loved it and eventually fell asleep.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped in a traditional tea shop and were treated to a sampling by the proprietor. His table was very fascinating and he had a little ceremony that he performed in order to prepare the sample serving. We walked out of there with some very aromatic jasmine tea.

Further along on our walk we stumbled upon the toy market. This was unintended, but we couldn't resist taking a detour and walking through. We managed to get out of there without buying any toys. All we got was a little Chinese knot that hangs from your door during the New Year celebration to symbolize good luck.

After dinner with the group we whisked Hannah off to the room to give her a bath and get her to bed. Despite the rush I couldn't help having some fun with her in her makeshift bathtub. The accompanying picture tells all.

We have been trying to get her to sleep earlier than when we first got her and she seems to appreciate it. We leave early tomorrow for our flight to Hong Kong and we need her to be well rested.

Andrew