Saturday, January 23, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The U. S. Consulate
Before Carly can be issued an immigrant visa to be able to enter (and stay!) in the U. S., we have to take an oath at the U. S. Consulate here in Guangzhou. The oath is our statement that we have been honest during the process of completing all adoption paperwork.
This is a milestone. Remember the long wait we had from October to December when we were waiting for “some paperwork” from China? We were waiting for the consulate appointment. This is that last piece of official business that we have to do. Once we take the oath, our babies will be issued a visa within twenty-four hours, and we will be able to board our flights home.
So, at 2:00 today, our group met Jason and Jocelyn in the hotel lobby and boarded a bus that would take us across the city to the U. S. Consulate. Travel time took about 50 minutes. We really weren’t that far away, but Guangzhou traffic was as congested and scary as it normally was, so we were just pleased that we arrived at our destination in one piece.
We went through security and then headed to the waiting room. While going through security, Sandy learned that she shouldn’t have worn a blouse with a sewn-on metal decoration. Although it looks nice, it will make the security guards nervous when it sets off the alarm. They eventually waved her through, which made me happy. I didn’t want to have to apply for an immigrant visa for her, also.
Thirty-two families had consulate appointments. Some of the families were from the same adoption agency we were, but the rest were all different. Family-by-family, we listened for our names, signed some documents, and then waited for the oath.
When they had finished calling all of our names, an American woman entered the room and talked to us about her job, the oath, and congratulated us for finally completing our adoptions. Then, we all raised our right hands as she led us in the oath.
When we finished, we lowered our hands, looked at each other and realized that every family in that room had waited 4 to 5 years for this moment. We had babies in our arms and had finished all the paperwork.
Now, we can breathe easier. We can start packing. We’re done.
This is a milestone. Remember the long wait we had from October to December when we were waiting for “some paperwork” from China? We were waiting for the consulate appointment. This is that last piece of official business that we have to do. Once we take the oath, our babies will be issued a visa within twenty-four hours, and we will be able to board our flights home.
So, at 2:00 today, our group met Jason and Jocelyn in the hotel lobby and boarded a bus that would take us across the city to the U. S. Consulate. Travel time took about 50 minutes. We really weren’t that far away, but Guangzhou traffic was as congested and scary as it normally was, so we were just pleased that we arrived at our destination in one piece.
We went through security and then headed to the waiting room. While going through security, Sandy learned that she shouldn’t have worn a blouse with a sewn-on metal decoration. Although it looks nice, it will make the security guards nervous when it sets off the alarm. They eventually waved her through, which made me happy. I didn’t want to have to apply for an immigrant visa for her, also.
Thirty-two families had consulate appointments. Some of the families were from the same adoption agency we were, but the rest were all different. Family-by-family, we listened for our names, signed some documents, and then waited for the oath.
When they had finished calling all of our names, an American woman entered the room and talked to us about her job, the oath, and congratulated us for finally completing our adoptions. Then, we all raised our right hands as she led us in the oath.
When we finished, we lowered our hands, looked at each other and realized that every family in that room had waited 4 to 5 years for this moment. We had babies in our arms and had finished all the paperwork.
Now, we can breathe easier. We can start packing. We’re done.
The Happy Buddha Buys a T-Shirt
On Tuesday afternoon, we strolled around visiting the shops that cater to the tourists and adoption families. T-shirts are a staple, you know, so Logan and I went in search of a t-shirt that would let everyone know we had visited China.
We quickly found one for Logan. It has a panda and some Chinese characters on it. For myself, I found a design with a dragon and phoenix on it. Excitedly, I asked the little Chinese shopkeeper for one in my size. She looked me up and down, patted my stomach, and said "Happy Buddha".
I didn't even look at the size tag. I just paid for the crummy shirt and left the store.
We quickly found one for Logan. It has a panda and some Chinese characters on it. For myself, I found a design with a dragon and phoenix on it. Excitedly, I asked the little Chinese shopkeeper for one in my size. She looked me up and down, patted my stomach, and said "Happy Buddha".
I didn't even look at the size tag. I just paid for the crummy shirt and left the store.
Clinic Day
Every child leaving China as an adoptee must have a final medical checkup, so on Monday, we met our agency reps, Jason and Jocelyn, in the hotel lobby and walked for about 10 minutes until we came to the local clinic. This clinic was open to the public, but, since it services many adoptees, it also had a special area set up for adoption checkups. Within this area, there were three rooms. One room was for weighing and measuring, the second was for general checkups, and the third was for ear, nose, and throat. We would have to take our paperwork into each room and let the doctor complete and sign his section.
Even though we all had healthy daughters, we were a little nervous. After all, these doctors could spot a runny nose and decide to use their power to require that we remain in China until it was gone. We didn’t know that they would do this, but we knew that they had to give us a clean check up, so it was a possibility. We sat in the Adoption Room waiting area and secretly wiped noses and quietly checked for sudden fevers.
Once the doctors arrived, we were told that we didn’t have to go to each one in a certain order as long as we made sure to visit each room. So, we spent the next 30 minutes criss-crossing the waiting area, passing other families, and asking “Have you been to that one, yet?” Eventually, all three doctors had poked on every little belly, looked down all the little throats, and were satisfied that all the little ears could hear. We emerged from the Adoption Room with officially-endorsed healthy children – all fit for traveling to and living in America.
The only real down side of the clinic trip was that three of the families, including us, fell under The Hague Convention Treaty. This is an international treaty establishing certain guidelines for adoptions. We three families were subject to this treaty due to the timing of the expiration dates of some of our paperwork that we had completed over the last 5 years.
This treaty required that we follow new guidelines for immunizations. We were given Carly’s immunization records when we were in Nanchang. We gave the clinic our copy, and they determined that Carly would have to have six additional immunizations to comply with the Hague requirements. One of the other babies had to have seven, so it could have been worse. Carly thought the whole thing was horrible. She let us know loudly and with much kicking.
Honestly, I thought it was horrible, also.
Even though we all had healthy daughters, we were a little nervous. After all, these doctors could spot a runny nose and decide to use their power to require that we remain in China until it was gone. We didn’t know that they would do this, but we knew that they had to give us a clean check up, so it was a possibility. We sat in the Adoption Room waiting area and secretly wiped noses and quietly checked for sudden fevers.
Once the doctors arrived, we were told that we didn’t have to go to each one in a certain order as long as we made sure to visit each room. So, we spent the next 30 minutes criss-crossing the waiting area, passing other families, and asking “Have you been to that one, yet?” Eventually, all three doctors had poked on every little belly, looked down all the little throats, and were satisfied that all the little ears could hear. We emerged from the Adoption Room with officially-endorsed healthy children – all fit for traveling to and living in America.
The only real down side of the clinic trip was that three of the families, including us, fell under The Hague Convention Treaty. This is an international treaty establishing certain guidelines for adoptions. We three families were subject to this treaty due to the timing of the expiration dates of some of our paperwork that we had completed over the last 5 years.
This treaty required that we follow new guidelines for immunizations. We were given Carly’s immunization records when we were in Nanchang. We gave the clinic our copy, and they determined that Carly would have to have six additional immunizations to comply with the Hague requirements. One of the other babies had to have seven, so it could have been worse. Carly thought the whole thing was horrible. She let us know loudly and with much kicking.
Honestly, I thought it was horrible, also.
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Village
During our stay in Nanchang, Evelyn and Karen arranged for us to visit a village. This was important to all of us. Had our babies stayed in China, they probably would have grown up in one very similar to the one we visited.
On Wednesday morning, we boarded our bus and drove outside of the city to a small village. Before you imagine shacks and dirt roads, you should know that we would have had to have driven 3 or 4 hours to find a village that primitive. The village we visited was composed of several paved streets lined with identical government-built homes. Well, they were identical in the sense that they were originally built identically with the same government-approved design and the same government-approved gray concrete. Over the years, they had deteriorated. Some of the homes were under renovation, but I don’t believe that they could ever be renovated to the point that that they did not scream poverty and depression.
Evelyn and Karen explained that the biological mothers of our children probably lived within one of these types of villages. They could not have lived farther away due to the cost of traveling to a city like Nanchang to abandon their baby. So, we walked the streets, growing more somber with the heavy imagined scenes of our new daughters living in this very village, walking these same streets, and watching Americans stroll by with their digital cameras.
We started the tour of the village at the grocery store. The store did not have automatic doors or refrigerated produce and meats. Instead, the meat was a just-killed hog, cut into pieces, and hanging from a line on the street corner. The produce lay scattered in boxes on the ground.
We spent about 45 minutes walking down the street beside the grocery. Most of the villagers were either under 4 years old or over 60. Everyone in between these ages was either in school or was in the city working. You need to understand that “working in the city” does not mean that they commute. City workers cannot afford to commute, so they find some sort of cheap lodging, and send their money home to the grandmothers and great-grandmothers raising their children. Once or twice a year, they return home to visit. That’s once or twice a year – not once or twice a week.
About half-way down the street, we came to a woman washing clothes (in cold water on a cold day) by dipping them in a bowl and then beating the clothes with a stick. A little farther down, a man stood on the side of the street and washed his hair. He was fully clothed, so I guess he wasn’t concerned about getting his clothes wet. He lathered and rinsed his hair with water from a bowl.
Some of us had brought lollipops to hand out to the children, and were rewarded with smiles from the young and old alike. The caretakers brought the children out to see us. Everyone was friendly. They were as curious about us as we were about them. We were “The Americans With Chinese Daughters” and we would be talked about for the rest of the day.
We had a connection with these villagers. They were our kinsmen, in some respect. The difference between us was that we would leave the village on a warm and comfortable bus. They would never leave.
Thank you, Evelyn and Karen, for making us realize that we need to remember that this journey was not just about us becoming parents. It was about our daughters having a future.
On Wednesday morning, we boarded our bus and drove outside of the city to a small village. Before you imagine shacks and dirt roads, you should know that we would have had to have driven 3 or 4 hours to find a village that primitive. The village we visited was composed of several paved streets lined with identical government-built homes. Well, they were identical in the sense that they were originally built identically with the same government-approved design and the same government-approved gray concrete. Over the years, they had deteriorated. Some of the homes were under renovation, but I don’t believe that they could ever be renovated to the point that that they did not scream poverty and depression.
Evelyn and Karen explained that the biological mothers of our children probably lived within one of these types of villages. They could not have lived farther away due to the cost of traveling to a city like Nanchang to abandon their baby. So, we walked the streets, growing more somber with the heavy imagined scenes of our new daughters living in this very village, walking these same streets, and watching Americans stroll by with their digital cameras.
We started the tour of the village at the grocery store. The store did not have automatic doors or refrigerated produce and meats. Instead, the meat was a just-killed hog, cut into pieces, and hanging from a line on the street corner. The produce lay scattered in boxes on the ground.
We spent about 45 minutes walking down the street beside the grocery. Most of the villagers were either under 4 years old or over 60. Everyone in between these ages was either in school or was in the city working. You need to understand that “working in the city” does not mean that they commute. City workers cannot afford to commute, so they find some sort of cheap lodging, and send their money home to the grandmothers and great-grandmothers raising their children. Once or twice a year, they return home to visit. That’s once or twice a year – not once or twice a week.
About half-way down the street, we came to a woman washing clothes (in cold water on a cold day) by dipping them in a bowl and then beating the clothes with a stick. A little farther down, a man stood on the side of the street and washed his hair. He was fully clothed, so I guess he wasn’t concerned about getting his clothes wet. He lathered and rinsed his hair with water from a bowl.
Some of us had brought lollipops to hand out to the children, and were rewarded with smiles from the young and old alike. The caretakers brought the children out to see us. Everyone was friendly. They were as curious about us as we were about them. We were “The Americans With Chinese Daughters” and we would be talked about for the rest of the day.
We had a connection with these villagers. They were our kinsmen, in some respect. The difference between us was that we would leave the village on a warm and comfortable bus. They would never leave.
Thank you, Evelyn and Karen, for making us realize that we need to remember that this journey was not just about us becoming parents. It was about our daughters having a future.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Buffet at the Jin Feng
Buffets are wonderful. You get your choice of many different delicious foods, and can fill your plate again, and again. In America, we will choose our restaurant based on the size of the buffet.
The Jin Feng buffet is a big buffet, so our group was more than excited at the possibilities. Our memories of Chinese buffets in America were rich with sweet and sour sauces and delicious egg rolls.
Sadly, we discovered that the edible (in our opinion) choices were very few. The Chinese consider many things to be delicious that we consider being, well, trash.
So far, the Jin Feng has offered us fried intestines, whole stir-fried frogs in a black broth, cold jellyfish, and duck head floating in…something. We haven’t been interested in these choices.
There are some familiar foods…prepared in unfamiliar ways, however. The fried egg is more un-fried than it is fried (no, not just “runny”) and the bacon is warmed, but that’s as much effort as they put into it. The bowl of boiled eggs looks good until you realize that they have been boiled in tea.
Where are the egg rolls???
Hmmm.
To be fair, they have offered some really good foods. The almond muffins have been my breakfast favorite. The buffet offers plenty of fresh fruits, also. But, you can’t eat almond muffins for every meal, and honestly, an apple a day is a little too much fruit for me.
We’ve thought about trying to cross town to find KFC. It is located in the same area as Walmart, though, and that experience is still too fresh on our minds. Also, we’re a little worried that a Chinese KFC may not be as selective in which chicken parts to make extra-crispy.
We’ve heard the buffet offered at the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou is very “westernized”. Hopefully, that doesn’t just mean that the eggs aren’t boiled in tea.
I’ll let you know.
The Jin Feng buffet is a big buffet, so our group was more than excited at the possibilities. Our memories of Chinese buffets in America were rich with sweet and sour sauces and delicious egg rolls.
Sadly, we discovered that the edible (in our opinion) choices were very few. The Chinese consider many things to be delicious that we consider being, well, trash.
So far, the Jin Feng has offered us fried intestines, whole stir-fried frogs in a black broth, cold jellyfish, and duck head floating in…something. We haven’t been interested in these choices.
There are some familiar foods…prepared in unfamiliar ways, however. The fried egg is more un-fried than it is fried (no, not just “runny”) and the bacon is warmed, but that’s as much effort as they put into it. The bowl of boiled eggs looks good until you realize that they have been boiled in tea.
Where are the egg rolls???
Hmmm.
To be fair, they have offered some really good foods. The almond muffins have been my breakfast favorite. The buffet offers plenty of fresh fruits, also. But, you can’t eat almond muffins for every meal, and honestly, an apple a day is a little too much fruit for me.
We’ve thought about trying to cross town to find KFC. It is located in the same area as Walmart, though, and that experience is still too fresh on our minds. Also, we’re a little worried that a Chinese KFC may not be as selective in which chicken parts to make extra-crispy.
We’ve heard the buffet offered at the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou is very “westernized”. Hopefully, that doesn’t just mean that the eggs aren’t boiled in tea.
I’ll let you know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
