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