July 8 – Beijing and Nanchang (and more…)
Woke up to pack and check out of the hotel. We find that we are still awakening at 5:30am or so (it’s pretty light at that point) so the morning does not feel too rushed. Belinda helps us to check out at the hotel, escorts us to the airport, and checks us in. I think she worked some magic too, as we had several bags and should have been overweight on our China Air flight, but for some reason all we got was a warning, and not a surcharge.
Our flight is delayed by about 40 minutes, but otherwise uneventful. As we land in Nanchang (pronounced Nan-chung), we see that the area surrounding the city is agricultural and beautiful – rolling hills and rice farming dominate the landscape.
Our local guide Michelle meets us at baggage claim and we board the van. She tells us we will have a 1/2 hour ride to our hotel in Nanchang, and the temperature is about 39 degrees C. Nanchang is also nicknamed “Furnace City” and this is the hottest time of the year.
Michelle also informs us that we will have about1/2 hour to freshen up before we head to our appointment.
Appointment?
We are getting the kids TODAY!!!
Panic all around the van. Fortunately Michelle has already checked us into the hotel and brought a bellhop on board the van to deal with our luggage.
All we have time to do is a quick change, grab cameras and diaper bag, find matching dresses for Emma and Zoe, and back to the van. We are incredibly surprised by this change of events, as we had thought tomorrow would be the big day. Now we are getting the kids at 4:30pm today.
Did I mention TODAY?!
The van trip to the adoption offices is pretty quick through the city. It’s much more urban that we envisioned – population 4 million with narrow streets and crazy traffic. But none of that matters since we are getting the kids TODAY.
Suddenly we’re at the building and heading to the 25th floor. We walk into the room and there they are!
Zoe is incredibly cute – wearing a pink dress and not really happy about her immediate future. Passports are verified, kids handed over, and an agreement that we would finalize paperwork and finances tomorrow. Her orphanage director is present, as well as some of the caregivers, and they wave a quick goodbye. We take family and passport photos, and that’s the whole deal for the day. Wham bam, we have another kid in the span of 30 minutes – very surreal. Back to the van, back to the hotel, room service, paperwork with Michelle, and an attempt at sleep.
Zoe took to Karen immediately. Me, not so much. She really wants to be close to Karen and the feel of Karen’s skin is clearly comforting to her. She loves Cheerios, but we cannot seem to make her a bottle of formula that she will eat (we are formula novices). We have some playtime bonding in the room, and she seems to really like games and even graced us with lots of smiles and laughter. Emma gave her a stuffed butterfly which is an immediate favorite toy. We also had a much needed bath for her.
Zoe’s bedtime is 8:30pm typically, and right about then it’s clear that she is tired. We get her into her crib with some crying (it’s been awhile since we have heard that – and our inability to calm her is stressful to Emma) and protest, but before long she is out like a light. Emma is dealing with mixed emotions about this new addition to the family but has been a great traveler and big sister so far. Final lights out for the whole family is about 9pm, and we fall asleep to the sounds of the street, and fireworks.
Woke up to pack and check out of the hotel. We find that we are still awakening at 5:30am or so (it’s pretty light at that point) so the morning does not feel too rushed. Belinda helps us to check out at the hotel, escorts us to the airport, and checks us in. I think she worked some magic too, as we had several bags and should have been overweight on our China Air flight, but for some reason all we got was a warning, and not a surcharge.
Our flight is delayed by about 40 minutes, but otherwise uneventful. As we land in Nanchang (pronounced Nan-chung), we see that the area surrounding the city is agricultural and beautiful – rolling hills and rice farming dominate the landscape.
Our local guide Michelle meets us at baggage claim and we board the van. She tells us we will have a 1/2 hour ride to our hotel in Nanchang, and the temperature is about 39 degrees C. Nanchang is also nicknamed “Furnace City” and this is the hottest time of the year.
Michelle also informs us that we will have about1/2 hour to freshen up before we head to our appointment.
Appointment?
We are getting the kids TODAY!!!
Panic all around the van. Fortunately Michelle has already checked us into the hotel and brought a bellhop on board the van to deal with our luggage.
All we have time to do is a quick change, grab cameras and diaper bag, find matching dresses for Emma and Zoe, and back to the van. We are incredibly surprised by this change of events, as we had thought tomorrow would be the big day. Now we are getting the kids at 4:30pm today.
Did I mention TODAY?!
The van trip to the adoption offices is pretty quick through the city. It’s much more urban that we envisioned – population 4 million with narrow streets and crazy traffic. But none of that matters since we are getting the kids TODAY.
Suddenly we’re at the building and heading to the 25th floor. We walk into the room and there they are!
Zoe is incredibly cute – wearing a pink dress and not really happy about her immediate future. Passports are verified, kids handed over, and an agreement that we would finalize paperwork and finances tomorrow. Her orphanage director is present, as well as some of the caregivers, and they wave a quick goodbye. We take family and passport photos, and that’s the whole deal for the day. Wham bam, we have another kid in the span of 30 minutes – very surreal. Back to the van, back to the hotel, room service, paperwork with Michelle, and an attempt at sleep.
Zoe took to Karen immediately. Me, not so much. She really wants to be close to Karen and the feel of Karen’s skin is clearly comforting to her. She loves Cheerios, but we cannot seem to make her a bottle of formula that she will eat (we are formula novices). We have some playtime bonding in the room, and she seems to really like games and even graced us with lots of smiles and laughter. Emma gave her a stuffed butterfly which is an immediate favorite toy. We also had a much needed bath for her.
Zoe’s bedtime is 8:30pm typically, and right about then it’s clear that she is tired. We get her into her crib with some crying (it’s been awhile since we have heard that – and our inability to calm her is stressful to Emma) and protest, but before long she is out like a light. Emma is dealing with mixed emotions about this new addition to the family but has been a great traveler and big sister so far. Final lights out for the whole family is about 9pm, and we fall asleep to the sounds of the street, and fireworks.
No comments:
Post a Comment