We meet our guide Catherine and three other families in the lobby at 7:40 am. The first stop was the medical clinic, which is just down the street from the U.S Consulate. There was another family besides us that had to have their child (this family was even outside our quarantined group) checked out before we were able to go to the consulate. They called the other family into their examining room while we waited in the hallway. Then, two doctors walked over to us and started to look Sophie over. They didn't even call us to an examining room, they just checked her out in the hallway. So, they didn't have us undress her. But, they did look at that one bug bite that I figured would give us trouble for like 10 minutes. They even called over another doctor to look at. Really? All this for a bug bite. They lift up her dress and looked at her stomach. (See no spots on the stomach where the pox usually first shows up, and the spots that they studied on the first trip to the clinic were gone. Doesn't that count for something?) Even our guide came over and showed them her mosquito bites on her arm and they told her that they didn't care about her bug bites. Another guide from a different adoption agency even came over to show them her bug bites. (Come on people if it was chicken pox, she would be covered in pox and have a fever, it has been a week and no pox symptoms.) After all this fiasco, they finally said "she is okay." They handed us our clearance. So, anyone coming to China to adopt make sure your child doesn't get any bug bites because they are freaking out now since that one orphanage (not even Sophie's) had a breakout. Our guide said the U.S CDC is now being more strict on the Chinese with their adoption medical checks. We all rushed (actually running) out of the medical clinic before they changed their minds. Oh, the other family's child was cleared too, they were freaking out on his bug bites also.
Then, we met back up with the other families who didn't have to go through another medical examination outside the building. Catherine, our guide, walked us over the U.S Consulate. She explained to us what we needed to do and where we needed to go once we got inside, because she is not allowed to go inside since she is not an U.S citizen. They are really strict about what you can bring inside their building. We were only allowed to bring one diaper and wipes in a clear plastic bag. So, no pictures of our process here, sorry. We had to show our passports before we even entered the building. Once we were all in the building for our appointment time, they all gathered us up and went over a few things about what to expect when you land in your port of entry and how your child becomes an U.S citizen. Then, they had us all to stand, hold up our right hand, and take an oath. After that, each family had to wait to be called up to the window and hand over some more paperwork. Now, the adoption is official in America's eyes. We had to wait until everyone in our group was done being called up, because Catherine wanted us to stay together. This whole process took about an hour and a half. Home Free! Now, we can relax, the most stressful and most important part of the trip is over!
We did make it back in time to skype David Ryan before he went to bed. He was very talkative. Every time we would tell him bye, he would tell us to wait a minutes and start telling us something else. He even blew kisses to Sophie and wanted her to blow him some kisses back. I can't wait to get these two together!
After skyping, we decided to try this Mexican restaurant, Tequila, that some of the other adoptive families suggested. We had to take a taxi to get there. It's funny, Mexican food in the US is cheap, but here it was the most expensive more we have had so far. For an appetizer, we got french fries nachos which were actually very good. Dustin had enchiladas and I had a beef quesadila. Sophie had french fries and a cheese quesadila. French fries came with all the kids' plates. This place was really good and they gave you a lot of food. Sophie is going to love the Mexican restaurant that we go to back home.
After eating, we took a taxi to Shamian Island to do some more shopping. We are trying to get some more Gotcha Day gifts for Sophie in the future. There is a tradition that parents give their adopted child a gift from their birth country on their Gotcha Day anniversary. Almost every store we went inside, the store owner gave Sophie a free gift. She racked up; she received a fan, another bracelet, retired old money, a butterfly hair clip, and a pin with one of their famous cartoons on it. I bought her another pair of squeaky shoes. (Satchers, the place to go for squeaky shoes is either Jenny's or Sherry's). Dustin started not feeling too well while we were out shopping. I guess the heat and Mexican food don't mix too well. Getting a taxi back to the hotel wasn't that difficult. It is easier getting a taxi when we you hang out by Lucy's.
When we got back to the hotel, we took a late nap. Sophie was falling asleep in the desk chair, so she didn't take no time to pass out. Dustin took a nap also since he wasn't feeling so well. I watched some TV while they napped. While they were napping, one of the non-quarantined families called our room to see if we wanted to go eat with them and some other families at this Mediterranean restaurant next to our hotel. I said yes.
We met the families in the lobby at six. It was about 7 families going. This restaurant had a big enough table to fit all of us at one table. Dustin and I ordered safe since he wasn't feeling too hot and I was still full from the big meal from lunch. We ordered the fruit plate and the vegetable dish. The fruit plate included watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, and oranges. Sophie was happy with the watermelon, she loves her some watermelon. The vegetable dish was really good, they cooked the vegetables in butter. The vegetables included carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, peas, and onions. This is just what needed, something different and light. Sophie liked all the vegetables, however, we did find out that she doesn't like apples. Dustin said he was feeling better after this meal. Sophie was a big hit tonight at dinner. She was making everyone laugh at the face she makes when she drinks Sprite. There was a Chinese belly dancer that came out at the end of our dinner. Sophie seemed to like this. Then, it was time to go back to our hotel room. Time for Sophie's bath and bed.
Tomorrow I will be packing. We will leave this hotel around 4:30 pm to go to the train station. We will take a train to Hong Kong and spend the night in Hong Kong. We will be staying at the hotel at the Hong Kong airport. Then, our plane will leave that next day about 11:40 am and we will be on our way HOME! Our flight from Hong Kong to Chicago is almost 15 hours. So, we need prayers again for safe travels and my insanity with travelling that long with a rumbustious two year old. We are so ready to come home.
I don't know if I will be able to blog tomorrow or not. I don't know if we will have internet access in the Hong Kong hotel. If not, I will update as soon as I can after we arrive home and get settled in. See you soon!
I tried loading some pictures of tonight's group dinner, but my computer is not cooperating with me. I will try to go back tomorrow and add the pictures.
Pictures finally uploaded.
Our Travel Group Dinner
No comments:
Post a Comment