Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Well, you know you’ve been gone for a long time when your 6-year-old walks in the hotel room and says, “Ahhhh….Home Sweet Home!” and your 4-year-old calls the hotel room next door “Christin’s House”.

Today is our last day in China. Kaylee keeps saying, “But I don’t want to leave China yet. Can we stay longer? Just 16 more days? Please???” And yet she is torn because she keeps talking about missing her friends back home and how she can’t wait to play with them again.

I have to admit, I’m feeling that way myself. The other moms in our travel group and other moms I’ve talked to down in the play room are definitely ready to go home, and have been counting down the days. Not me. As much as I can’t wait to take Jenna home and introduce her to all of our friends and family, there’s a tangible sadness about leaving here.

After breakfast, we went to the Guangzhou Zoo, one of the three largest zoos in China. The zoo looked like a beautiful park, and the girls loved seeing the panda bear. We also saw tigers, lions, monkeys, giraffes, and elephants. (The buffet table is far more exotic than the zoo here!) Ironically, we saw peacocks walking around the sidewalks not in cages, but they did have dogs (yes—2 little dogs), pigs, and goats on exhibit. Interesting. Aside from seeing the panda, the highlight of the trip for Kaylee and Madison was feeding the fish – huge orange colored koi and carp. The fish would literally swarm to get the fish food thrown into the water by the girls—I’ve never seen anything like it.

Without a doubt, this is the hottest, most humid day we have encountered so far. Though it was only 95 degrees (something we’re very used to back home), the humidity is unbelievable. Sweat rolled down our backs and soaked through our shirts, just from being outside. In August and September it is 110 degrees here. Thank goodness we’re here in June! Two and a half hours was about all we could take, given the heat. Jason said we had seen about a third of the zoo.

We went back to the hotel and gave everyone a bath before our Consulate Appointment, which was scheduled for 4:00. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. We’ll take our official oath and receive Jenna’s visa to take her home to the US. Since we were here last time, they’ve built a new Consulate facility in a newer section of the city. It was a 45 minute bus ride to the Consulate, which was on the 5th floor. We had initially been told that none of the extended family could attend, but thankfully they were able to. We had to check all hand-carries at the front desk—no cameras, no backpacks, only baby supplies in a Ziploc bag were allowed inside. When we walked in, there was a huge banner that said, “The Consulate General of the United States of America Congratulates You on Your Adoption!” Of course, I would have loved a picture of that…or of us taking our oath…or of us receiving Jenna’s visa. Instead, I was thankful to have a family picture by the sign down in the lobby on the first floor. (We really weren’t supposed to take pictures even of that, as you weren’t supposed to take pictures inside or outside the building.)

When we got back, our family had a celebration/farewell dinner at Lucy’s. You can tell that this area caters to adoptive families. In each of the restaurants, they have a baby menu—not a kids’ menu, but a baby menu—steamed eggs, mashed potatoes, congee, etc. We ordered mashed potatoes for the baby, french fries for the girls, and everyone was happy. It was great.

On the way back to The White Swan, Christin left to go pick up some things she’d ordered, and Nai Nai and Grandad went to pick up the bottles they had had painted with Jenna’s picture. John went back to the room to put Jenna to bed and start packing, and I took Kaylee and Madison downstairs to take pictures by the waterfall in their new Chinese dresses.

When we came back upstairs, we ended up having an impromptu goodbye-party with Madeleine and Samantha, right there by the six elevators. There were giggles, squeals, and hugs galore as the girls played tag and the parents reminisced. Samantha asked her mom, “The next time we come to China, can we have another playdate with them?” Her dad laughed, and said, “Sure….how does 3 weeks from this Thursday sound?”

I can’t believe this is our last night in China. Not only am I genuinely sad about leaving, this is the part of the trip I’ve been dreading—the packing….the security checks….the layovers….the long flights….and everything else involved with a 36-hour trip home with three little kids.

This part of the trip was awful on both of our other trips. When Kaylee was a baby, she wasn’t used to being held, and she couldn’t sleep on the plane. She only slept a couple hours total, of the 24 hour trip, and that was in 10 or 15 minute increments (whenever we could put her on the tray tables before a flight attendant would make us move her).

Madison, too, was miserable on her initial flight home. That time we purchased an extra seat for her, after remembering Kaylee’s experience, but she was just the opposite. She wanted to be held all the time, and she screamed/cried most of the trip, even when we were holding her. Kaylee was also very sick with a high fever and blisters in her mouth and throat on the way home that time. We literally could not get home fast enough.

I hate to even think of what tomorrow holds…36 hours….3 kids….ugh…

Part of me just wants to stay here at The White Swan forever. :)