We're home!

I'm happy to say that we are back at home, recovering from our long trip.  Both Jen and I are still sick.  Jen has almost lost her voice.  But we made it back, and our worst fears were never realized.  My main concern was that Hope would be difficult to entertain, especially on the long flights, but aside from the shortest of the legs, she remained in her seat (well, our laps) the entire time, either asleep, or entertained with toys, food, movies, the stuff in the seat in front of her, etc.

The first leg was the shortest, from Guangzhou to Tokyo, on China Southern.  Because our time in Tokyo was to be less than 90 minutes (or so we thought - more on that later), we were told that our bags would not make the connection, and we had to sign something that essentially stated that we may never see them again.  So we transferred a few items to our carryons, and said goodbye to our luggage.  We had upgraded to first class from coach using Skymiles, but I wasn't expecting much given our first experience on this airline (bad food, older plane, etc).  The food was still not great, and the plane may have been old, but I wasn't paying attention, because there was about 4 feet of space between our seats and the seats in front of us, and very wide aisles, and the row to the right of us was empty, so I was ecstatic.  We actually spread a blanket out on the floor in front of us, for Hope to play on.  We walked her around first class when she wasn't playing on the blanket, and I had visions of having to do this for 10 hours on the next leg, and 4 on the one after that, in less spacious accomodations.

We landed in Tokyo expecting to have less than 90 minutes between flights.  Turns out, they listed China time on our ticket, not Tokyo time, and we actually had about 20 minutes.  We didn't realize this when we stepped off the plane, and fortunately, I spotted a Delta employee holding a sign with our names on it.  He informed us that we had only a few minutes to catch our flight, and we literally ran through the airport, trying to keep up with this employee.  Hope loved it as she bounced up and down in Jen's arms as we ran.  The employee cut to the front of the various lines, got us through quickly, and when we reached a bus that was waiting (it appeared just for us) to take us to the Delta terminal, he told us that we had made it.  Crazy.  We just had to laugh.  I don't know if they do what they did with the sign and all for everyone, or if it was because we were flying first and business class, but we were very thankful for it.  Missing our flight would have been horrible.  Forget Godzilla - Tokyo would have had a couple of very cranky passengers to deal with.

The next leg was the worrisome one - Tokyo to Salt Lake City.  Unfortunately, the seats were not the awesome "pods" that we had on the flight over.  Still business class, but not nearly as comfortable - The seats didn't lay completely flat, and were not very wide.  Plus, the flight was full.  We did have a bulkhead, though, and they attached a bassinet (a net with a cardboard box) to it, so Hope could potentially sleep, which she actually did, for a couple of hours.  I couldn't sleep, though, it was just too uncomfortable, plus I was sick, and I had lent (lended?) my blanket to Hope, so I was cold, so I watched a little of "Invictus" until Hope woke up.  From that point, we just sat in the chair.  We fed her at meal time, read to her, she climbed on the TV screen, etc.  She may have napped in my arms, I don't remember, but she was a trooper, and although it was difficult, it was not even close to the nightmare that I had envisioned, and we arrived in Salt Lake City for a 4 hour layover.

We headed to the Delta lounge.  The woman at the counter asked us if we had adopted from China.  She had an 18 year old daughter whom she had adopted many years ago, and they had just gone back to visit the foster parents, and she talked a little about that experience.  It's a great community that we now belong to.

The SLC to Orlando leg was equally uneventful.  Hope slept for the last couple of hours, so I was able to watch most of the Colts game, and "relax" a little bit.

We arrived in Orlando to rain, but it was good to finally be home.  Jen's brother Phil was already circling the airport, so after a stop at the Delta baggage desk to inquire about our bags (which we have since received), we were on our way home.  Hope didn't fuss once in the car seat, as we were expecting, although I sat next to her and entertained her, so that may have had something to do with it.

There was a great display of stuffed animals, champagne, and a sign created by our friend Christine set up at the front door, but unfortunately, we came in through the garage, and my father had to point it out.  My mother also woke up and came to down to welcome us home. We let Hope walk around and explore, and she seemed to enjoy the many toys and stuffed animals that we have laying around.  My parents went back to sleep, and so Jen and I had the couches.  Hope had the pack and play, and she slept for a little bit, but eventually started crying and I could not get her back to sleep, so I had to hold her on the couch for the rest of the night, and I got no sleep.

In the morning, we waited anxiously for Bella to wake up, so that we could all surprise her together.  We did, with video camera in hand, and captured one of the happiest moments that I can recall.  Bella was just grinning from ear to ear, and was just delighted at Hope, giggling at her and any noises that she would make.  We have a great picture of Bella standing in her crib and throwing her head back and laughing.  It was awesome.

We've been home for a couple of days now.  Hope is having sleep issues, which is common.  Plus, she's still adjusting to the time change.  We've placed her in her crib, next to Bella's crib, and she's slept for a couple of hours, despite Bella's constant chatter, but then wakes up and cries, wakes up Bella, and I have to go in and extract her.  Last night, she slept next to me on our bed, so not much sleep for me again.  Hopefully, once the time change is no longer a factor, she will sleep through the night.  We'll see.  But we now have the pack and play in our room, so if we have to, we'll place her there, and hope she sleeps.  We need sleep ourselves.

Bella and Hope pretty much ignore one another, but Bella does try, and succeed, to take things from Hope, stating "Mine!", and we try and talk to her about sharing, etc.  It's not easy, and we have to be sensitive to Bella and the fact that this is all new to her.  I'm sure she's confused, despite our attempts to prepare her, and she's not used to not being the center of attention.  We try to tell her that we need her help, and we have her assist in Hope's diaper changes, etc.  We also try and give her individual attention, even if the moments are brief.  We need to make sure that she doesn't feel any less loved.  I think we're doing the right things, but we're all going to be doing a little learning together as a family.  In the long run, I believe a sibling will be good for her, and teach her valuable lessons.  She does occasionally walk up to Hope and pat her on the head, saying "Good Hope".  It's a start.  

Hope spends her time exploring, checking out the various toys.  We've taken a couple of walks outside.  She still doesn't like it at times when I disappear from view.  She is a good eater, and has been eating "our" food - turkey burger, pancakes, chicken alfredo, etc.  We were really worried about the food thing.  We're in the process of converting her over to milk, mixing in a bit with her formula, and we'll gradually add more.  The dogs don't seem to bother Hope, at all, but the two noisiest and most active are still at our friend Joanne's  house, but so far so good there.  Her foster family didn't have pets.  Still waiting for that first English word, although she did say "Bye-bye", so that may qualify.

Thanks to everyone who lent support or helped out in anyway while we were gone.  We truly could not have done this without your support.  We have great family and friends.  Even though we're back from China, we still have a long way to go, but it has, and will continue to be, a fascinating journey.  Thank you all for being a part of it.

Waiting in the China Southern lounge for the flight to Tokyo

Mom and Hope preparing for takeoff

The spacious seating in first class on China Southern

Distracting Hope with headphones

Somewhere over Tokyo.  Big mountain amidst the clouds.

Our greeting upon arriving home.

Greeting Bella in the morning after being gone for so long.  Probably the greatest moment I've ever captured on film.

Bella is so happy!

First meal together.

First bath together.

Last two days in Guangzhou!

I didn’t post last night.  I was feeling pretty sick.  Had a sore throat, headache, a little stuffy, and tired, all day.  I’m still feeling about the same today, although Excedrin helps.  So yesterday started out with some more shopping.  This time, we hit the jade market.  It’s row upon row of little booths, selling jade jewelry, trinkets, etc.  It was very crowded, and there are little stools everywhere, so it’s difficult to navigate with a stroller and sleeping child.  Due to the language barrier, bargaining on an item goes something like this - You ask "How much?"  The dealer takes out a calculator and punches in a number (in yuan – 100 yuan is about $15 dollars), you say “Too much”, and he or she hands you the calculator and you punch what you’re willing to pay.  Back and forth until you agree.  

Later in the afternoon, our guide took us to the U.S. Consulate for the swearing in ceremony, and we received Hope’s visa.  Hope will now be a U.S. citizen as soon as she enters a U.S. port.  There were about 10 other families present, and we had plenty of time to chat prior to the swearing in.  It’s interesting to see the other children, witness how they are interacting with their new parents, hear the parents experience, etc.  It’s especially nice after visiting a city like Wuchang, where we felt very much alone at times.

We then had to stop at the local Delta office, and the China Southern office, to purchase lap tickets for Hope.  Why this can’t be done at the airport, I don’t know.  Our guide was very accommodating, though, and we appreciate it.

Today, we did a little bit more shopping.  That was pretty much it.  We did see a few more interesting, and disturbing, things, though.  As you walk through the local market, people have various things for sale, some spread out on blankets.  One gentleman had two giant paws for sale, with claws attached, obviously real.  My guess would be tiger paws based on the size of the claws.  Very disturbing.  I also saw what looked like a pile of deer legs (or a deer like animal), and buckets of live scorpions.  I have no idea what any of these things are used for.  I’ll have to do some Googling when I get home.  No animal part seems to go to waste here.  Chicken feet are featured prominently in store windows.  Even in our hotel, “braised pigeon kidney” is featured prominently in an advertisement for one of the restaurants. 

Fortunately, we’ve been lucky at meal time.  The hotels have had breakfast and lunch buffets, and I’ve been able to eat French toast, waffles, pancakes, fruit, etc. for breakfast, and there’s usually a few things that I consider to be edible for lunch.  When venturing out, I can usually find something to eat on the menu, although it can be difficult.  I’ve eaten scallops and shrimp a few times, tuna, noodles, and rice. I won’t touch the chicken – It’s not the pretty white meat that you see in the U.S.  Jen has eaten spare ribs a few times.  Oh, and of course, the fast food has been there – McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc.

So tomorrow morning, at 7:00 am our time, we head to the airport.  We have a long day ahead of us, and I’m extremely anxious about flying with Hope for so long.  My original concern was that she would cry a lot and disturb the other passengers, but I think she’ll be ok there.  I’m just concerned about having to entertain her for 20 or so hours in the air.  I know that she’s going to want to move about when she’s not sleeping, and I envision hours of our having to walk her up and down the aisle.  I’m praying that she sleeps – a lot.  Hopefully, Jen and I will be able to share the load.  She’s been a lot better with Jen these past couple days.  Still prefers me, but she doesn’t freak put when I’m out of sight, so it’s getting better.  It’s fun to watch her.  She loves to go up and down stairs, pick up leaves, blow kisses, and when she hears music, she either bounces up and down or sways from side to side, and waves her hands.  Very cute.

So tomorrow, we'll be home.  Can't wait to see everyone, but especially Bella, and introduce her to her sister.   See everyone soon.

At the U.S. Consulate office

Making friends at the China Southern office

Enjoying a snack before dinner

An old building, near the jade market

Bucket of live scorpions

Hope about to discard one of the leaves that she's picked up.

Making yet another friend

Guangzhou - Day 3

Today started off with a little victory.  I was in the bathroom when Hope woke up, and started crying.  My first instinct was to run in there before it got worse, but I thought that I’d give her a little time alone with Jen, and so I hung back.  Well, Jen was able to comfort her, and change her, all without a fuss, and without intervention on my part.  Later that morning, she fell asleep in Jen’s arms, another first.  We’re not completely there yet  -  Tonight she wouldn’t let Jen put her to sleep, but this morning was a big step in the right direction.

We hung around the hotel until after lunch.  We went to the roof where the pool is located, walked around, and snapped some pictures.  Our guide Becky called and said that everything was ok as far as Hope’s visa was concerned.  Tomorrow is the swearing in ceremony at the Consulate.

After lunch we took a cab ride over to Shaiman Island, for some shopping, walking, and a little Starbuck’s Coffee (yep, it’s here, too).  For dinner, we decided to eat at the same Thai place that we had been to a couple of nights earlier.  A family from Atlanta sat down at the table across from us.  We got to chatting with the wife about the return home, and mentioned that we were staying in Tokyo for a few days, before leaving for the States.  She mentioned that her travel agent had told her that they were not allowed to overnight in Japan, or at least, their newly adopted daughter could not, because she had a Chinese passport  -  Those with a U.S. passport are ok.  We just about had a heart attack.  We had so little time to book the initial flights, and had not considered that Hope would have a Chinese passport, not a U.S. one.  Now we had visions of sitting in a Japanese airport for 3 days, or being sent back to China.  Jen lost her appetite, and so we raced back to the hotel to make a call to Delta.  Fortunately, we were able to change our flight.  We are still flying into Tokyo, but leave the same day for the States.  Delta also waved the change fee, which would have been $500.  Awesome.  So we will arrive home three days earlier than expected.  I’m relieved.  We didn’t want to stay in Tokyo, anyway, but that was the only option when we initially booked our flights.  Now, we will see Bella three days sooner than we anticipated.  We both miss her terribly.  We’re so fortunate to have run into the family in the restaurant.  It could have been really ugly in Tokyo had we landed and been given the bad news there.

Hope was as pleasant as ever today.  She's a really sweet little girl, and I think she and Bella will get along.  She had a blast again playing in the bath, splashing like crazy.  Our guide in Wuchang said that she had been given two baths a day at her foster home, but I'm wondering if they were just sponge baths, or maybe a shower.  Hope acts as if she's never had one before.  I had mentioned that she would not sit down during her first bath with us, and it just appears as if the water and the sensations are all a new experience to her.  I may be wrong, but it does appear that way.

Tomorrow afternoon is the swearing in ceremony at the U.S Consulate.  So more shopping in the morning.  Until tomorrow…

Rooftop pic

Another view

Yet another.  Note the pretty fronts that they've added to the buildings at the bottom of the photo.

Hope on the roof

Ladies playing cards in the park

I'm not sure about this guy.  This is as close as she got.

Guangzhou - Day 2

Today was a fairly busy fun day.  We started off with a little shopping, just up and down the main corridor that the hotel lies on.   It’s a very busy street, pedestrian wise, and construction wise.  These are the modern shops, selling clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc.  Sales people try and entice you into the stores as you walk by, and follow you when you enter their shop, which is a little annoying.  One asked me if Hope was my baby.  We bought a couple of things, nothing too exciting.  I prefer the older areas, where they sell the “unusual” stuff, but we didn’t venture there today.

In the afternoon, our guide escorted us to a Buddhist temple.   The predominant religion in China is Buddhism.  We toured the grounds.  Hope spent most of the time walking around, picking up every leaf that she saw on the ground.  I spent most of the time trying to prevent her from eating them.  She also loves to go up and down stairs, over and over again, which requires me to hold her hand to prevent her from falling.  I don’t really mind, though.  Just wish it wasn’t so darn hot.  Not as hot as Wuchang, but hot enough that I was sweating up a storm.

A monk performed a blessing for Hope.  We knelt in front of three giant, copper Buddha statues, as the monk chanted and banged on some sort of wooden instrument.  It was very interesting.  I had no idea what he was saying, of course, but the gist of the blessing was for long life, happiness, etc. - all the good stuff.  Hopefully, these guys have a little pull with whoever makes those decisions.

After the temple, we drove down to the river for a river cruise.  We were on the “VIP” deck, which meant a/c and a buffet.  The food wasn’t that great, though, and unfortunately, it rained for a good portion of the cruise, but we did get maybe a half hour window without rain, and were able to go out on deck and take pictures.  You get a great view of the city from the river, and all of the buildings are lit up with a variety of colors.  Hope had a good time, walking around, and bouncing and waving her arms when music was playing.  She blew kisses to everyone when we were getting off the boat.  She’s a very happy baby, for the most part, very friendly, and seems to be very comfortable with us now, although she still prefers me when she needs comforting.  Now the bad - She drools like crazy!  I think it's because some teeth are coming in.  I'm surprised the furniture in the hotel room isn't floating.  We bought a couple of bibs for her, and we keep them on her most of the time, so they will be featured prominently in all of her photographs for the time being.

Tomorrow is a free day for us, but our guide goes to the U.S. Consulate for us to apply for a U.S. visa for Hope, so it's actually a very important day.  We'll probably do some more shopping.  Until then…

One of the interesting alley ways

At the Buddhist temple

This is where the monk performed the blessing for Hope

Hope has one of her leaves.  The Buddhas in the background are made of copper.

Guangzhou, from the river

Getting ready for dinner.  The bib is actually for drool - She's a drool machine.

Mom and Hope on deck

The city at night.

Guangzhou - Day 1

Before leaving Wuchang yesterday, Jen took an opportunity while Hope was napping to visit a 700 year old Buddhist Temple in the area.  She took some great pictures.  I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see it in person.

Anyway, we stopped at the Civil Affairs office one last time to pick up Hope's passport, before departing for the airport.  I had pretty much had it with Wuhan - the heat, the stares, the crazy driving, the "Pizza Hut incident" as it will henceforth be known, and I was dreading the long drive back to the airport, and sitting in the cell block like terminal for a couple of hours, then a 1 1/2 hour flight with a baby whose tempermant on an airplane was unknown.

The drive was very uncomfortable.  I had Hope for most of the time, it rained for a good part of the way, and the driving was even crazier.  In China, the lines that divide the lanes are just suggestions.  No one sticks to one lane for very long, cars come very close to side-swiping one another, pedestrians come within inches of being run over.  If this was the U.S., middle fingers would be flying everywhere.  Here, no one really even glances when you honk at them.  At one point, our driver passed an ambulance which had it's lights on, and honked at and passed a police car.

But we made it safely to the airport terminal, which fortunately was the brand new terminal, not the old one that we arrived at.  So the wait wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Hope did pretty well on the flight, I must say, but it was stressful finding ways to keep her entertained, plus were were in coach, with a guy sitting next
to us, and I was crammed in the middle seat.  We made it to Gunagzhou, though, our very nice guide Becky greeted us, and we headed off to the hotel, the Shifu Holiday Inn.  I had read nice things about the hotel on line, and was not disappointed.  Beautiful lobby (with a/c!),  and big beautiful room.

In the morning, after a pretty good night's sleep, we toured the hotel with cleared heads.  I told Jen that I felt like I had been released from prison.  Such a nice hotel, nice staff, incredible views from the roof where the outdoor pool is located.  Plus, the hotel is located in the shopping district.  There is a long corridor of modern shops, crisscrossed with alley ways that lead into older parts of the city, and more traditional shops. It's completely fascinating.  They try to hide the old buildings behind false fascades, and I know a lot of the old parts of the city are being torn down, but it's ashame.  It's like stepping back in time when you step down one of the old alley ways.

After exploring for a bit, we had to head back to the hotel to meet our guide, who escorted us to the medical exam.  We got to the clinic early, and beat the crowd that arrived shortly after we did.  You go to several different rooms, see several different doctors and nurses, who weigh her, look in her ears, her mouth, etc.  All a little strange - I half expected them to see some bizarre, antique medical equipment - but fortunately, we were in and out pretty quickly, and there were no shots, so that was good.

After a lunch of KFC (yep, that's here, too), we headed back to the same area where the clinic was, this time on foot, for some sight seeing.  The area where the clinic is located is called Shaiman Island.  There's a lot of British Colonial influence there, so the architecture is different, and there are a bunch of gift shops catering to tourists, and adopting families.  To get there, we had to walk several blocks through an area that sold pets, and pet supplies, and what I guess you would call herbal shops.  There were dried assortments of plants, and other things that I didn't recognize, lizards on sticks, dried snake skins, sea horses, etc.  Really fascinating.  I'd love to know what some of the things are used for.  What do you do with a bag of dried sea horses?

Once we reached Shaiman Island, we just did some exploring, checked out several gift shops, took some pictures, let Hope walk around a bit.  Just a really nice area, really relaxing.  We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant, talked with a few other adopting families from the States, and headed back.  I can't say enough good things about Guangzhou, and the area that we are staying in.  I will post pictures tomorrow.  It's getting late here.

Bath time fun.

Entrance to the Buddhist Temple in Wuchang

Beautiful ceiling

View from hotel window in Guangzhou.  This is the main shopping corridor.  The older buildings are hidden at street level.

Waiting with other adopting families for the medical exam.

Filling out some paperwork

Dried snake skins

Sea horses

Can you find Hope?

I found a leaf

You'd better get used to these Hope...

Sign at entrance to park.  Darn, and I bought a pistol in that tunnel in Wuchang!

Hopscotch with friends in the park.