We've back in Hong Kong

We've made it back to Hong Kong after a very long day.  We checked out of our hotel in Guangzhou this afternoon and then were put on one of three buses taking families to the US Consulate office.  Unfortunately, their was no air conditioning in our section of the bus. It was so hot that Eva and Kai were both drenched in sweat by the time we got there.  Poor kids.   The procedings at the Consulate office took much longer than usual because there was a film crew and reporter from Reuters there.  Look for us in the crowd of any China adoption news stories that you may see in the future.

 

After the Consulate appointment, we went to the train station and took the train to Hong Kong. We got on an earlier train than we were originally scheduled for, but due to the early departure, we didn't have time to have dinner before getting on the train.  The kids were really miserable (adults were miserable by default). We're now settled in to our hotel and everyone is fed and asleep.  We start our day tomorrow by leaving the hotel and 7:30 am and hope to be home 25 hours later!

Pink Pajama Pants

We are still able to post text to the blog but can't load any more pictures, so you'll have to believe me when I tell you that the pink pajama pants have not made an appearance in several days.   When we first met Kai, he was wearing pink pajamas - top and bottom, coverd with a pale yellow jumper.  Of course everything was in the traditional split-pants style - that means a bare undercarriage for ease in using the potty.  Now, one would think that if you had spent the first 23 months of your life with a bare bottom that it would not be that big of a deal to part with your pink pajama pants and have bare legs...  Wrong!  Having bare legs was VERY traumatic.  So, whenever we went anywhere, the diaper and shorts all went on over the pink pajama pants.  We also had some backup split pants, but the pink ones were always the favorite.  He wore them on the plane from Hohhot to Guangzhou, but it is so hot in Guangzhou that we couldn't possibly dress him in layers.  He really isn't used to the heat and humidity and breaks out in a heavy sweat after being outside for about 15 minutes during the day.  So, Good-bye Pink Pajama Pants and the bold fashion statement that went with them. 

 

Our US Consulate appointment was today.  This is when our guide takes all of our paperwork to the US Consulate and applies for Kai's immigrant visa. Our job was to wait by the phone in our hotel room in case someone from the Consulate wanted to ask us any questions.  It's kind of odd to have an appointment with the US government that a citizen of another country attends on your behalf, but that's the way it works.  Everything went smoothly. No one asked us any questions.  So, Kai is approved to become a US citizen. We are now just waiting for the visa to be printed. We should receive it tomorrow afternoon shortly before leaving on the train for Hong Kong.

 

No more blogging?

We are not able to access our website today, but our internet connection appears to be fine.  We weren't sure if we would be able to access it at all while in China, so I gues we were lucky up until now. I think that we can still add posts through email - that's what this is.  Can someone please leave a comment if you can see this? That way we will know that it got to our website.

 

Today we had our medical exam and filled out paperwork.  It all went very smoothly.  The medical exam is very basic and is meant to screen people coming to the US to prevent people with infectious diseases from traveling. The paperwork for our Consulate appointment tomorrw. 

 

 

Fun with Dad

We had a great dinner tonight. Terri's friend Wiki who lives in Guangzhou went with us, so not only did we have some great company but we also were able to order exactly what we wanted at the restaurant thanks to her.

Kai has been charming everyone he meets. He and Eva both shook hands with nearly everyone that approached them at the restaurant. The two of them have been clowning around together quite a bit. In the video, Eva couldn't quite get Kai's attention, but generally they play quite well together... when they're not squabbling over some coveted toy.

It was Terri's birthday today! Unfortunately our schedule changed, and instead of spending her birthday on a dinner cruise on the river, we ended up going to a shopping mall and a Pizza Hut with two other adoptive families. There were 14 of us, including 6 kids all under the age of 5... not exactly a relaxing or enjoyable time. Hopefully we can give her a little time relax tomorrow!

Guangzhou Day 1

We've arrived in Guangzhou after a 5 am start to our day and a three hour flight. Kai does not like flying. He cried and screamed about 50% of the time. He was eating about 45% of the time and ok to just hang out the for remaining 5%. So, if we extrapolate that to our trip home next week, that's about 8 hours of screaming that an unsuspecting plane full of people will be treated to, AND we had better bring an extra suitcase full of snacks.

The climate in Guangzhou is the complete opposite of that in Hohhot. Hohhot was extremely dry - I would wake up in the middle of the night and want to drik a bottle of water. We were treated to a sandstorm on Thursday which made everything seem gritty and drier, and everyone except Eva was having some sort of resirpatory problem due to the dust. Guangzhou, on the other hand, is rainy, hot and extremely humid. Scott, Terri and Eva have already ventured out for supplies and snacks while Kai is taking a nap. We don't have anything official scheduled for today. Tomorrow, we are going to see the Six Banyan Temple (or something like that).