SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2004: GUANGZHOU, CHINA

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! That’s what we were all saying to each other this morning at breakfast, due to the seasonal tunes we’ve been listening to in the elevator & lobby of the hotel. I guess it’s just another piece of music to the people here, but we frequently hear Silent Night, Ole Lang Sine, and other such holiday tunes playing in the elevator and over the intercom. Quite a peculiar mix of music to say the least. We were coming back from Dinner on Thursday night and as we waited for an elevator we heard Silent Night playing for the first time. About 12 of us stopped talking and looked at a speaker in the ceiling, then just started laughing.

We are now back in Guangzhou for the final work to bring Samantha home; (White Swan Hotel room 901). We woke this morning at 4am to prepare to leave Lanzhou. The hotel kitchen manger had a buffet breakfast ready for our group at 5:00am, which is an hour earlier than usual for the hotel. Despite the cigarette smoke, filthy carpets, and dust that wreaked havoc on our allergies, it was a fairly decent hotel with a very devoted staff. We boarded the bus at 5:50am, and made the hour long ride to the airport to catch an 8:25 flight to Guangzhou. Once again, our guides checked our luggage for us an hour before we arrived, handed out tickets and boarding passes for us, and made getting on the flight very easy for us new parents. We said goodbye to our local guide, Steed Chen, and settled in for the 3 hour flight.

I need to interject something about the in-China flights at this point. On our flight from Beijing and this flight to Guangzhou, our guides simply purchased the required number of tickets without consideration of having the seats together. Thus, when we boarded the plane, no-one in our group was sitting together. It wasn’t that big a deal flying from Beijing to Lanzhou, but now that we all had infants it was not as amusing! Not to worry; Our advocate, help, and defender of the faith "Cindy the Fierce" entered the plane, then started moving the other passengers around so that most of the families could sit together. NO JOKE: She was actually telling other Chinese passengers to get up and move, then redirecting us to sit together. I’ve been flying for 30 plus years and this was a first. Unfortunately, even the powerful Cindy could not get everyone seated together and such was our luck. Debbie and Samantha were a few rows back from where I was sitting, so I kept checking on them from time to time. I think I’ll try that approach the next time I take a domestic flight in the US, and just order some passengers to move around for no reason! (I’ll probably get glared at if I do)! What a hoot.

Sam did quite well on her first airplane ride, although the descent was a bit tough on everyone’s ears. A Chinese woman across the aisle took Sam and played with her for about 10 minutes, which both seemed to enjoy. We left Lanzhou, a very nice & arid 42 degrees, and landed in Guangzhou to a balmy 84 degrees and high humidity. Still, it is great to be back were we started at the White Swan Hotel knowing we are less than a week from returning home.

After we checked in, I retrieved a bag from the concierge we’d checked a week ago, picked up an engraving we had started at a local shop, stopped by the 7-11 for diet coke & such, and dropped off the cameras that were sent to the orphanage 2 months ago (all of this in about 30 minutes)! I also picked up a few little gifts to bring home that we had shopped on our previous stay and planned to buy on our return to Guangzhou. They have a great selection of "squeaky shoes" which we’ve been thinking about as well- that should really thrill our dogs. The squeak is in the heel, and it helps promote correct walking by stimulating the child to walk heel - toe. (Most infants learning to walk have a tendency to walk on the ball of the foot). If you can stand the noise, I guess it’s a good idea. It’s also fun to watch the child’s happy expression as she squeaks the shoes for about an hour.

As it was about noon when we got to our room, we ordered delivery from a place that does American food called "Danny’s Bagels." Their main menu is pizza, but also have hot sandwiches like a Philly Cheese Steak, french fries, buffalo wings, potato skins, and all of those other bad things you need after two solid weeks of Chinese food. We collected clothes for the laundry and hand washed some items. A part of my new daily routine is preparing Sam’s medication and food for the next day, which I do each evening before her last bottle of the day. The only thing on our agenda remaining today was to report for visa photos at 5pm- along with 4 other groups of adoptive parents. Fortunately, the photographer was at the same location as where I had dropped off the orphanage cameras, so as soon as our visa photos were complete, I picked up our 48 prints from the orphanage.

We are amazed that almost all of the orphanage photos are of Sam, and a handful include other children who were adopted by our group. The orphanage is very well run, and we have pictures of Sam playing both inside and outside, standing in her crib, tooling around the playroom in a little walker, eating, and even having a tantrum! The nanny who handed her off to us is in most of the photos, and the ratio of nannies to children in all of the pictures appears to be 3 nannies per dozen kids, so not too bad. Additionally, the play room is decorated in a motif suitable for children with a blue half wall, and trees, clouds, and little animals on the walls. Overall, we are much more impressed with the orphanage in Zhangye where Sam came from than some of the other orphanages we’ve seen photos of. We are very fortunate just to have these photos, have shared a few with other families who have children from the same place, and believe these will be valuable to Sam later in life when she can comprehend the more abstract issues of her adoption.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we complete the visa application and submit it with the photos that were taken this evening. Monday, we hand in the visa application, pay that fee, and then take Sam for a brief physical that afternoon which consists of a medical history review and weigh in. Tuesday we have a sight-seeing tour and lunch together, then a professional photographer will be here taking group and individual pictures. We brought swim diapers and a swim suit for Sam to see if she likes the pool, so we’ll try that Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday we receive Sam’s passport with her US visa, then take an oath that we will provide Sam with all the rights of a child living in the United States. As soon as that is over, it’s back to the hotel to pack. Wednesday night we leave at 9pm to return to the States, returning to Los Angeles at 6pm pacific time the same day. We will be spending the night at the Sheraton Four Points hotel beside LAX, and then complete the journey by returning to Houston on Thursday evening. It’s hard to believe that our trip is almost over: It seems like we’ve been here a month, and we are both ready to be home. We miss our puppies, and can’t wait to see how they get along with Sam.

The past two weeks have been extraordinary. Visiting a foreign country we never imagined we would see, and the new sights, customs, and issues that presents. Adopting a child and the culmination of all the multinational legal requirements involved. And, most of all, becoming parents for the first time. I know that most of those who read this are already parents, grandparents, families who have also adopted from China, families who are waiting for referrals from China, and one family considering doing this. I’m sure that you parents and grandparents remember your reaction to finally holding your first child, whether conceived or adopted. The long period of preparation, waiting, and anticipating pales in comparison to that moment when that small, innocent, helpless being is first in our arms.

To our friends waiting and those thinking about doing this, let me say two things: (1) You are invited to our house in a few weeks to have a Chinese dinner, meet Sam, and see a slide show of our trip; (2) Get your application in and get started-you won’t regret it. We’ll help you as much as we can to get ready for your trip! To have their eyes look into yours, feel their heart beat as you hug them, hear with eagerness every little sound they make, and sense the awe in the deepest part of your being that a new relationship between parent and child has begun- It is beyond words for me, and we are both still in a bit of shock that she is actually ours: It seems like a dream. We’re such a sight to behold; we get excited changing her diaper and can sit and stare at her sleeping for who knows how long. Tomorrow, I’m adding her to my health insurance and starting a payroll deduction for college. College tuition at the Univ of Tenn should cost about as much as our house by then. Of course, with all the academic scholarships she’ll receive as valedictorian . . .

Anyway, from half way around the world, this is Jeff the Sleepy signing off at the end of another very long day.