Day 1: Touring Beijing

Today was incredible!  We had such a blast seeing the sights in Beijing.  After a quick complimentary breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant, we met out Beijing tour guide set up for us by our travel agency in the hotel lobby.  Her name is Lily and a Beijing native.  She took us out to a van where we met another family working with our agency who will be picking up their son in a different province from Mila but will be here in Beijing with us and then we will see them again at the end of our trip in Guangzhou.  It was a mom, dad, and their two youngest kids, Madison and Dillon.  They are from Atlanta and told us that they were working to adopt a girl from Russia when Russia stopped all international adoptions and they ended up losing $7000 because their agency went bankrupt.  I could not imagine if that had happened to us!  Then they quickly switched gears and where matched with their son, Austin, in China.  He's just slightly younger than Mila.  So it was very fun being able to tour with them for the today.  The first stop was the JuYongGuan Great Wall of China which was about 2 hours from the hotel.  The Great Wall was really awesome to see even though it was a very overcast day and there was heavy smog/fog in the air.  It was very cold and had recently snowed in the area, but that didn't stop us from hiking about a mile up the wall going up one side of a mountain.  I think we climbed like 2000 ft in an hour.  Needless to say, it left us very breathy.  There were a lot of people touring the wall like us but most were chinese.  We saw some Europeans and hardly any Americans.  We did walk with 2 older gentlemen from Virginia for awhile who were very excited to hear what we were there for.  Along the wall were 5 or 6 guard towers that we walked through until the last one that had a small gift shop inside.  Most of them smelled like pee and poo.  We went in the gift shop and bought a christmas ornament with a picture of the Great Wall on it.  Hiking back down went a lot faster but left our legs wobbly.  It was mostly stairs that were VERY steep and they had been worn down over time so a lot of the blocks were severely cupped or slanted making foot placement tough.  There were a few handrails that turned our gloves brown.  Part of the wall had a chain where you could buy a padlock with your name engraved on it and clip it to the chain (we didn't do that).  We met back up with the other family in our van on the way down and walked to the bottom with them where there was another gift shop.  We purchased a bamboo scroll that was a "hero certificate" which said in Chinese letters that we had climbed the wall.

After the wall, we headed to a Jade manufacturing plant and lunch.  Lily was an excellent guide and told us many facts about China as we drove.  At the jade plant, we were taken upstairs to a nice restaurant where we were served a very good chinese meal with many dishes.  There was a big glass lazy suzan on the table so you could rotate it around to get the dish you wanted.  There was rice, broccoli, kungpow chicken, sweet and sour chicken, dumplings, cabbage, soup, and watermelon.  Almost everything was very good.  The sweet and sour chicken was the best I have ever had.  Then they took us downstairs to where they make jewelry out of jade.  They showed us these master carvers who sit at diamond tipped polishing wheels and take raw stone and turn it into jewelry.  Then they took us to a large showroom where they wanted us to buy stuff.  We decided not to part with any of our money there (expensive).

After the museum we headed back into the city to Hutong Lane or the "Old Town".  On the way, we passed the Olympic village, Birds Nest Stadium and Water Cube.  Hutong Lane was like the traditional old school area of Beijing.  It looked like various Chinatowns do in American cities.  They put all of us on 2 person rickshaws and drove us through the streets.  It was a very cool experience.  It was pretty brisk, but they covered us with blankets.  We saw a traditional farmers market complete with all kinds of weird animal body parts and a traditional family home.  We were invited invited into a ladies home to sit in her kitchen and got to ask questions about her life (this was pre-setup by our travel agency but we had no idea it would be part of the tour).  Turns out her husband and son are big time Kung Fu guys and both knew Jackie Chan so there were pictures of them together all over the kitchen.  It was cool to talk to the lady and think about Mila in her home and wonder if they were the same.

After the rickshaw ride, we got back in the van and drove to the section of town where there is an open street market where you can get things like scorpions and mealworms on a stick.  They also had starfish and snake.  Bobby tried a bite of cow kidney and watched the other man in our group eat 2 scorpions.  Turns out that this place was two blocks down from our hotel.  So we said goodbye to our group (because that was the last stop) and headed home.

On the way home, we got distracted by a huge mall that we hadn't even realized was there.  We went in and were surprised to see how super nice it was.  Tons of really nice stores.  We also spotted a foot massage parlor across the street from the hotel so we ducked in there to check out the prices.  Turns out that the prices here are really cheap.  We both got 70 min massages for $30 each and the place was super fancy.  We had our own couples room and got to drink Lily herbal tea as we had our feet rubbed.  It was super relaxing and much needed after the stress of flying.  When that was over, we grabbed a quick bite at a McDonalds in the mall (lame we know) but we wanted something quick and that was honestly one of the only places we recognized.  But it turned out to be really cool because they have a bunch of weird stuff on their menu like rice, and a big mac with two huge sausage links on it.  Not sure what that is about.

But now we are beat!  And we have another day of touring tomorrow.  Neither one of us realized how cool this day and probably tomorrow will be!

Day 0: Travel to Beijing

Yesterday was one looooooong travel day.  We both went to bed at normal time on Tuesday Feb 11 but decided to get up at 2:30 in the morning Feb 12th to help us get a jump on the jet lag.  Our plan was to be really tired when we got on the plane so that we could sleep right away which would help to put us on China time.  It sort of worked.  After saying good bye to the cats, we piled into the Scion and headed out to Newark NJ.  Getting through the airport was fairly uneventful.  One of our bags weighed 49.5 lbs and the other was 50.0 exactly.  Yea!  Actually the airport ended up being really exciting because there were a lot of Chinese families on our plane including their little girls which make us tear up because it reminds us of Mila.  We were in row 40 on the 777 we flew on in the middle section.  The seats were a little cramped but not too bad.  Bobby was on the aisle seat with Larkin in the middle and a Chinese lady next to her.  We flew United and they have screens built into the backs of all the seats (maybe standard on all international flights now) so that we could pick from a bunch of movies and shows to watch.  Right before takeoff, they announced they would do a meal service right after take off, a mid flight snack, and a meal right before landing.  This worked out well for us because we were hungry and decided we could eat and then get to sleep.  The meals were actually REALLY good.  Chicken and rice with salad roll and cookie for one, beef with noodles, roll, cookie for the other.  The snack was a ham sandwich and cup of vanilla ice-cream.  We both were really tired after eating and tried to sleep but it was difficult.  Luckily they completely darkened the lights and everyone shut their shades.  I'd say we got maybe 2-3 hours sleep then with a couple of more naps later.  So getting though the 14 hour flight went like this: watch a movie, listen to iPod, play games on iPad, get up to stretch and go to the bathroom and then repeat a whole bunch of times.  Our bums got pretty sore.  But after a loooong time, the little plane on the flight tracker finally showed we were approaching landing and the flight was finally over.

Our first impression of Beijing: either it was very foggy or very smoggy or both.  It was hard to tell but the visibility was really low.  The airport was really something because we had been told how quiet it was in the airport and it really is.  Not sure why but even though there's a ton of people, everyone is being really quiet.  So even standing in customs, you could hear the roar of a water fountain off in the distance.  Luckily we got through customs without incident.  And then we both got a chance for our first Chinese bathroom experience.  We were pleasantly surprised to see normal toilets and tp, but this could be because its an airport and therefore pretty Westernized.

We came out of the baggage claim and weren't for sure who we were looking for to meet us.  Luckily, it didn't take long to find our guide holding a sign for us.  His name was Justin (we later found out he picked than name because he loved New Kids on the Block and liked Justin Timberlake) and was a SUPER nice.  He works with our travel agency.  He called his friend "Mr. Fey" to come and meet us with his car.  We were both laughing under our breath at that name because we call our cat Fiona "Fey" for short so we liked that his name was "Mr. Fey".  It took us about 40 minutes to get from the airport outside of Beijing to our hotel in the middle of the city.  On the drive, Justin had a lot of questions for us about the United States and even though he had never been, knew a lot of information about our country which he said he learned a lot from movies.  He was curious how our economy was doing and what places we a visited.  He was very interested in New York City.

We got to our hotel, the Beijing Novetel Peace Hotel, which we learned is French owned but is on a very nice street that Justin compared to 5th avenue in NYC.  Definitely has some nice stores and restaurants but it reminded us more of Chinatown in Washington DC.  The hotel staff was very nice and got us all checked in and also gave us out Panda phone which is our in country cell phone we rented for use while we are here.  The hotel is pretty large with a nice buffet restaurant, pool (no hot tub :( ) and a place to exchange your money.  After putting out bags in the room, our exhaustion was hitting us pretty hard.  We didn't want to sleep yet though to help get us on China's schedule, so we headed back out to the hotel buffet for dinner.  It was VERY good.  Plenty of Chinese and american dishes we could choose from.  There was even a sushi bar.

One thing we don't have a feel for yet is the currency.  Like our dinner was 365 yuan.  We had no idea how much that was.  We later learned it was $60.  Bobby is going to make a currency conversion cheat sheet to use while we are out so that we don't over spend on something.  Tomorrow we head to the Great Wall and it will be one day closer to getting Mila!!!

  

Packing

Can't believe we are at this point!  It seemed that this day would never come.  In a few short hours, we will be piling in the car to drive with mom to the airport.  Packing has been more intense then we thought.  Its hard to know what to pack for a girl you have never met before and are unsure what she likes to eat, wear, and play with.  It will be interesting looking back on this time and thinking about all the things we didn't know yet.

Update 2 on Lidi

Just got this...a little bummed that we didn't get pictures too but we will be seeing the real thing soon!

Received 01.27.14

Wu Li Di (F), DOB: 09/18/2011 lives Wuhan CWI, Hebei Province matched with Jones/DE, #3428 (URGENT)

1).Shoe size

Her foot length is 15cm please refer to it.

2).How her potty training is going

She is potty trained but she wears diapers at night or when she goes out.

3). What phases can she say

She can say some phases, for example, I wants to go to park, I likes banana, I am full and I’m going to bed etc.

4). Has her foster parents told her about us

Yes, her foster parents often show her your album and talk her about her new family.

5). Are there gifts or toys that she would like

She likes doll and electric toys.

Travel Itenerary

Feb 13             Thursday                               

Arrive in Beijing at 3:00PM from Newark via UA 89 (12:00NN / 3:00PM) (issued by Lotus)

After you get your luggage, meet your English speaking tour guide holding a sign with your

name at the airport exit near the luggage claim area. Transfer to your hotel. (Transfer and  guide booked by Lotus)

The guide will inform you of the pick-up schedule for the tour.

                                                                                                Beijing Novotel Peace Hotel

Feb 14             Friday                                     Beijing Novotel Peace Hotel (B/L)

Meet your guide at the hotel lobby and explore JuYongGuan Great Wall and Hutong Lane for  a whole day tour. Lunch is included. (Booked by Lotus.)

                              

Feb 15             Saturday                                Beijing Novotel Peace Hotel (B/L)

Today, visit the Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square. Then, have lunch with Holt staff.

(Optional; booked by Lotus. During this tour you will also visit Silk Factory)

Feb 16             Sunday                                                (B)

Airport transfer (Booked by Lotus.)

Beijing/Wuhan flight via CZ 6146 (11:25AM / 1:10PM) (The local guide has your tickets)

Airport pick up and hotel check-in. (Transfer booked by Lotus.)

Wuhan Renaissance Hotel

Feb 17             Monday                                   Wuhan Renaissance Hotel (B)

                 Morning - Meet your child at the Civil Affairs Office and take passport photo at the Public

Security Bureau (Transfer booked by Lotus.)

Feb 18             Tuesday                                  Wuhan Renaissance Hotel (B)

                 Morning - Adoption process: registration and document notarization (Transfer booked by Lotus.)

Feb 19             Wednesday                             Wuhan Renaissance Hotel (B)

Free day for optional activities. (No services from Lotus, Holt staff will assist with arrangements if

required.)

Feb 20             Thursday                                Wuhan Renaissance Hotel (B)

Free day for optional activity (Tower of Yellow Crane). (No services from Lotus, Holt staff will

assist with arrangements if required.)

Feb 21             Friday                                     (B)

Hotel check out, pick up child’s passport and then transfer to airport (Transfer booked by Lotus.)

Wuhan / Guangzhou flight via CZ 3345 (6:55PM / 8:35PM) (the local guide has your tickets)

Meet your English speaking tour guide and driver at the airport exit and transfer to the hotel.

(Transfer and guide booked by Lotus.)

                                                                        Guangzhou China Hotel

Feb 22             Saturday                                 Guangzhou China Hotel (B)

                        Visa paperwork check and Medical check (Transfer booked by Lotus.)

Feb 23             Sunday                                                Guangzhou China Hotel (B)

Free day for optional activities. (No services from Lotus, Holt staff will assist with arrangements if

required.)

Feb 24             Monday                                   Guangzhou China Hotel (B)

                        Pick up medical result (Arranged by Holt; no services from Lotus.)

Feb 25             Tuesday                                  Guangzhou China Hotel (B)

                        Visa appointment and Oath taking ceremony (Arranged by Holt; no services from Lotus.)

Feb 26             Wednesday                             Guangzhou China Hotel (B)

Visa pick up. (Arranged by Holt; no services from Lotus.)

Feb 27             Thursday                                (B)

Guangzhou/Hong Kong train via T817 (12:03PM / 1:56PM) (the local guide has your tickets)

A guide will wait for you at the exit area. You will have private transfer from HungHom train station to your hotel.  The guide will also help you to check in to the hotel. (Transfer and guide booked by Lotus)

                                                            Hong Kong Regal Airport Hotel

Feb 28             Friday

Transfer to the airport via an enclosed, air-conditioned link bridge (No services from Lotus.)

Hong Kong / Newark flight via UA 116 (11:25AM / 1:45PM) (issued by Lotus)

Please be at the airport around 3 hours before flight. End of services!

We're Going to China!

Its been a little while since the last post but man has a lot happened!  Its now February 3rd and on February 12th (Bobby's birthday) we will be traveling to China!  Its hard to believe that we actually know the date now and are so close to going.  Ok, so how did we get here.  Well, after we got our Article 5, things started happening quickly.  First, we got our Travel Approval on January 13th.  This is the piece of paper we needed from the Chinese government saying that we are approved to enter the country to adopt.  As soon as we got that, Holt started working on our travel dates.  They were estimating that we could go either Feb 7th or Feb 14th.  We decided that Feb 14th was better so on Jan 16th we got our Consulate Appointment.  This is the date that we will take Mila to the US Consulate in Guangzhou so that she can get her visa to come to the US.  Our consulate appointment date is Feb 26th.  So then we contacted Lotus Travel to have them build our itinerary and to start getting the trip booked.  Here is a picture of the Travel Approval.

We Received Our Article 5!!!

The most common question we are asked about our adoption is, "When will you be traveling to China?"  Unfortunately, we have been unable to answer that question specifically but have only been able to say, "We hope sometime in February."  Well today we passed one of the last 2 major hurdles in finding out that answer.  And that is, the Article 5 document from the US Consulate got issued!!!  Here's an explanation of what an Article 5 is:

If the Consular Officer determines that the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States and that the information provided indicates that the adoption process thus far has complied with the Convention and IAA, he or she will notify the Convention country's central authority by issuing an Article 5/17 letter. The Article 5/17 letter will inform the foreign central authority that U.S. competent authorities have determined the prospective adoptive parents are eligible and suited to adopt, that the child may enter and reside permanently in the United States, and that the U.S. Central Authority agrees that the adoption may proceed.

So the US has reviewed all of our paperwork and are now certifying to the Chinese government that we are good to go. 

Here is the email we received:

Dear Adoptive Parent,

The Adopted Children's Immigrant Visa Unit (ACIVU) at U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou has finished processing your child's Article 5, and your file is ready to be returned to your adoption agency's facilitator today. 

Next, your agency will deliver the Article 5 and Letter of Seeking Confirmation to the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA), which will issue the Travel Approval (TA).  The TA allows you to come to China to finalize the adoption, so once the CCCWA issues the TA, your agency can email us to request an immigrant visa appointment at the Consulate.  When your agency requests an appointment, they are required to submit your five choices in rank order.  The ACIVU strives to schedule every family for their top appointment choice on which we still have available visa appointments.  We do not reserve certain days for children of certain ages.  All appointments are open to adopted children of any age and medical condition, and they are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.  We then notify your agency of the scheduled date and time.  

The last and final step will be getting our Travel Approval (TA) from China which means that we can book our trip and we will finally know our date!