US Consulate appointment day!

We enjoyed a nice morning today.  After breakfast we went walking with one of our new friends to see the local wet market (where they sell animals for food).  Don't worry, no graphic pictures here (though, there were definitely some graphic things to see.)  The pictures below are of Jian looking at the scorpions (we don't know if they're snacks or meals) in a bucket - we have plenty at home in Texas we can send to them here!  Jian is standing next to some pigs, chicken feet and squid (everything else except the scorpions was dead).  It was very intriguing to see all of these different things (including whole goats (skinned), jellyfish, huge squid, duck, one dog :() and seeing what local people do and eat.  I was a little concerned about what happens when the goat is not sold that day, but, I decided to not dwell on that too much! The last picture is walking back to our hotel holding my new friend Carrie.  The boys really had fun playing with her too. Since she's Chinese and spoke little English, she was used to gesturing, so they all communicated well with each other. The last picture is a man biking down the street, a common occurrence with big packages loaded onto bikes and motorcycles (including propane tanks!!!)

Then we did a little shopping for a few more gifts to bring home.  We enjoyed some lunch and saw a Chinese movie being made!  After lunch we all took a little rest before leaving for the consulate.  

We were at the consulate appointment with 10 other families who were also adopting, and had seen several of them around town and in our hotel, so, it was fun to share this together.  To be honest, it was a little anti-climactic in the end.  No one is allowed to take their cameras or phones inside the consulate, so we couldn't get any pictures.  We all waited together, then, were called up family by family to sign a document that we'd previously sent in through our agency, and waited for everyone else to do the same.  After that, we all sat together and listened to the instructions for when we receive the visa and paperwork for immigration.  I interpreted for the boys and was impressed that both paid attention so well with all that was going on.  The lady introduced herself, talked a little about the building, then announced there were 2 children's birthdays, one girl who just turned 2 and then had a few nice comments about Jian having just turned 14 and that his adoption happened just under the wire.  Everyone clapped for him and as he looked around, he seemed a little embarrassed, it was cute.  I did get teary when we had to raise our right hands and take an oath that all of our information was true and accurate, though, it was hard to raise my right hand and sign at the same time :).  As soon as that was over, everyone clapped and Tanner jumped up and down hugging Jian.  It was really adorable how excited he was and seeing the two of them hugging each other (I wish I could've had a picture!)  We spoke to the lady there at the consulate for a few minutes before leaving and she said all the people there commented how they loved Jian's passport photo (the one where he was always giggling) because most of them are very serious or the children are crying, and it was nice to see him so happy.

So, that was that!  We went back and grabbed some dinner and now the boys are swimming again.  Tomorrow we'll be packing up and getting ready to go.  We'll leave in the early afternoon to go to the US Consulate one last time to pick up Jian's passport and visa and the paperwork we will need to give to US immigration when we arrive in New Jersey.  Our plane stops in NJ, and we'll need to de-plane, and go through customs.  At this time, when he walks off the plane, he will become a US citizen.  After picking up the passport and visa, we'll head to the train station to go to Hong Kong.  That was a bit stressful this morning, apparently something is going on in Hong Kong right now as most hotels were completely booked, we both were becoming anxious and wondering what we would do, when finally we found a hotel as well as a service that will bring us to the airport Friday morning.  Phew!  We're hoping it's not too bad, but, we're just happy to have a room to sleep in!

Today we are really ready to go.  Tanner was a little sad tonight and said he missed his hamster.  He asked me later who I was missing, I told him "my bed!" and he replied "and my hamster??"  I'm finally done with all being in one room in a small, hard bed and wearing the same 5 outfits all the time!  BUT.... I would not have traded this experience for the world.  

This morning at breakfast, JIan and I we were discussing all of the children who were being adopted and how wonderful it was for them to go to a home with a mom and dad.  He told us some things in a very general way that he had seen at the orphanage (children that had died) and it caused me to cry.  He said "it's ok, don't cry" and I told him it was ok to be sad and cry.  It reminded me again that though we have an amazing new son who has a new beginning and a new life, he still has a past.  He has a history that we were not a part of and a history that will always be a part of him.  This history does not define him, it is not who he is, but it will always affect him.  Our prayer is that he will use it for the glory of God!  I was reminded of Philippians 2:14-16 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing."  

Well, the boys just came back!  So, it's time to do a little packing.  We are really looking forward to being home soon.  To seeing how Jian adjusts there, to being a family back home.  He is so excited - I'm hoping his expectations aren't too high! :)  Hopefully we will be able to update tomorrow from Hong Kong - if not, it's possible our next update will be from America!!! 

Not everything can go swimmingly....

Well, it's true.  We couldn't expect everything to go so smoothly.  I called to confirm our flights today and found out we had a flight from Beijing to Houston, but, the flight they had us on from Guangzhou to Beijing had canceled our tickets.  Hmmmm, well, ok.  Lets go over this again, with all the names and information, I explained the whole deal from before.  After about 3 total hours on the phone, we are now flying out of Hong Kong on Friday.  So, we'll need to check out of our hotel here Thursday after picking up Jian's visa, take a train to Hong Kong, stay overnight there and then fly out from there to New Jersey and then on to Houston.  The good news is that our total travel time will be about 5 hours less than we originally had been scheduled for and will only have 2 flights instead of 3 flights.  We also get to Houston about 3 hours earlier than originally planned.  So,hopefully this will all go smoothly!

This morning we went to the US Consulate to get Jian's fingerprinting completed.  I was excited to see the US flag and thought it would feel a little more like home, but, nope, it didn't!  Then we went to a park and walked around there, took a little (and I do mean little) boat ride on the lake/pond.  We came back to go swimming before going to dinner and enjoying a night cruise down the Pearl River.  It was a nice evening with a beautiful breeze and we enjoyed the company of some other adoptive families as well. 

Tomorrow we're going to check out some local markets and then we go to the Consulate again in the afternoon to take an oath.  There will be many other US families there at the same time, so, that will be fun!  OK - goodnight from Guangzhou!

Chimelong Safari

We had a fabulous day yesterday at the Chimelong safari.  Apparently, if you visit Guangzhou - this is one of the best things to do.  It was a combination of safari/zoo/performance all rolled into one.

We went with another family and were all very happy to have gone.  We loved the drive-through safari (on a train) and saw a lot of lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, deer, wildebeests, zebra, camels, rhinos and much more, very close up.  Jian loved it, but, was quite concerned that they would eat people.  After the 45 minute ride, we got off and walked (well, actually ran, following our guide) through the rest of the zoo and saw tons of white tigers, many pandas, a lot of baby animals, tigers, chimp, zebra, wildebeest, and deer and then attended 2 performances, an elephant performance (it was amazing) and a tiger performance (a little more sad and not quite as amazing).  We were completely worn out by the end of the day.  We all enjoyed leisurely looking at the animals, but, apparently that's not the chinese way of doing things ;)  Our guide was always in a hurry and encouraging us to move on after about a 1-2 minute stop at each place.  It was a bit comical really!  We laughed a lot because it seemed there wasn't any time to enjoy the animals, we were always needing to move on to the next one.  We wonder if the word linger is in the Chinese vocabulary.

Both boys really loved the park.  We obtained a lot of fun video that we'll have to post when we get back home.  There was a lot of laughter and a really fun day of memories.  The boys were tired, but, of course, not too tired to swim.  A quick dinner in our room (of 50-cent noodles from the 7/11 across the street) and we're all ready to rest, read and sleep!

This morning we went to have Jian's TB test read.  Fortunately, it was clear (they didn't inject it very well and left a bit of a bruise so I was a bit concerned they might note that as a reaction, but, thankfully it was clear).  Then, we went to do a little shopping to a pedestrian mall.   On the way we saw an entire street with very small shops on both sides of all types of chinese medicinal foods like dried snake, dried (and flattened) lizards, mushrooms, seeds, deer tendons, bones of things, and many other unrecognizable things - they were in giant bags to come and buy in bulk.  We also enjoyed walking (well, one of us - the rest of them tolerated it) around a large store of many smaller shops filled with jade.  It was a bit overwhelming, but, nice to look at.  

Now, back for some more swimming and a restful (hopefully :)) evening.  Tomorrow we'll need to get Jian's fingerprints done at the US Consulate and the following day we take our oath at the US Consulate.  Thursday we pick up his visa and Friday we head home!

Some observations

So, there are definitely some different things about China that we are not used to back home. Here are some of our observations for our memories and your entertainment.

* I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the squatty potty non-western style restroom facilities.

* There's no such thing as waiting in line, you may wait in line, and when it's time to go in, it becomes a crowd and it's a free-for-all.  You have to learn to maneuver your way around (somewhat like roller derby) and it's not considered rude!

* Customer service is a relative term :)

* There are a lot of different smells and we're not always able to discern what they are, or, really get used to them.

* Listening harder and talking louder doesn't help me get my point across any better.

* Interpreting has a different meaning here - there can be a 10 minute conversation and then a 1 sentence interpretation.

* Top sheets are not a commonly used item - all our hotel beds have only had bottom sheets and duvets!

* Being stared at and having your picture taken doesn't necessarily make you feel like a celebrity, but, it makes us laugh :)

*We don't  think we will ever get used to the idea that having the head still on your dinner somehow makes it more appetizing.

Now for some serious notes.

We are daily recognizing astonishing blessings that we've been given.  Both in our trip here and with our family.  It's amazing how often I think that 3 weeks ago we knew very little about our soon to be son and how quickly we have felt like a family.  Our communication of course is not perfect, but, it's easy to do.  The boys behave like brothers and really seem to enjoy each other's company. While he does tend to need alot of redirection and explanations about appropriate and innappropriate behaviors, he always accepts the redirection well, which we are very thankful for.  I do not feel like Jian has not ever been our son.

Tanner has not had any migraines or any more symptoms since the first week we were here.  He gets tired but never complains.  Yesterday he was feeling a little homesick and down, but, who isn't!

We have all been able to get along and not really had any arguments or frustrations with each other.  After being in such close proximity and constantly together for three weeks, it's a real blessing that I haven't been worse!  With my OCD tendencies, they've put up with a lot, and I'm so thankful that Jon is still being patient with me and we're both continuing to have patience with the boys!

These things are all thanks to your prayers!  We know that this trip is ordained and we are exactly where we're supposed to be, and it makes it so special and meaningful that you are praying for us and joining us on this trip.

Medical exam.....done (mostly)

So, our first day in Guangzhou was a successful one.  We had a nice breakfast while enjoying the Pearl River.  During breakfast Jian continued staring at a little girl who was adopted.  He couldn't pull himself away.  He asked a lot of questions about it and why she was in the orphanage.

We then met our guide and walked to get Jian's Visa pictures taken.  The lady kept talking to him in Chinese and I think telling him not to smile.   I finally asked our guide to remind the lady that he was deaf.  He continued giggling and had a hard time not smiling - it was pretty cute.

Then we walked to the medical exam office.  This is for adoptees from all over the country, as well as a medical office for anyone.  We met several other adoptive families there, it was fun seeing a lot of different age children that were being adopted.  It felt really crazy there - we were shuffled from one section to the next, one doctor listened to his heart and lungs and checked him all over, then, someone else checked his eyes (at this point the doctor came over and explained he was disappointed in Jian's posture :)), then we moved to the ENT area before blood pressure.  Then, we waited for a while before he had to get 5 shots plus the oral polio.  We had warned him ahead of time, and he did great taking the shots.  We had to wait about 30 minutes to make sure there was no reaction before we could leave.  We have to go back in 2 days to have his TB test checked.  

After that ordeal, we had a delicious Thai lunch with another American family.  We came back for a little swimming, resting and TV watching since it was a rainy day outside.  Jon and Jian went to the gym for a while and right now they're enjoying a rousing game of Memory (who would've thought he'd have so much fun playing Memory on the Ipad  :)).  This includes squeals and much laughter whether winning, losing or tying.

Tomorrow we're all excited to go to a wildlife safari!  We've heard you can pet baby tigers and hopefully will see panda bears.  It should be a fun day.

Also, one week from today we will be home in our beds!