The weather has finally broken and it is sunny and dry in Guangzhou! Yesterday was a wonderful day enjoying the area. After a great lunch at "The Rose at Shamian Park", we walked through the park and ended up at the White Swan Hotel. Anna continues to be a celebrity around town, with many people stopping to talk and play with her. Those that speak English all ask the same questions: how old is she?; is she your baby?; what's her name? where is she from? This is usually followed by: she's so cute, she's so happy, she's so lucky. . . We always correct this last one with, no we are the lucky ones. At the White Swan, we found a wonderful little book store (Anna's Aunt Janet would have loved it!) where we bought a number of Chinese children's books for Anna. We can't wait to read them with her.
This morning all the Moms took the girls to the White Swan for the famous "red couch picture". It's kind of a tradition to get the babies picture on this couch. The idea is to line the entire group up on the couch and get a picture (10 babies sitting on the red couch). The girls were not too cooperative and we were not able to get a picture with all of them so the picture was taken in sections. After some last minute shopping, we were off to the U.S. Consulate for U.S. adoption approval and Anna's travel Visa. A bit of info. . . the Consulate is different from the Embassy in that an Embassy is always in the country's capital, whereas a consulate is a government office in another city. The U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou is the site of all adoption approvals for the U.S. from China. Our group included about 75 families. It was great to see so many orphans being adopted by loving American families. The process was rather brief. After confirming our identity, a young man came out to explain the process for bringing Anna into the U.S. This was followed by a swearing in statement for all of the families. When we raised our right hands, lil' Anna raised hers as if she knew exactly what was happening (she has become quite good at mimmicking. . . very smart!). I would have loved to get a picture of this, but we were not allowed cameras in the building. We all clapped and cheered at the end. Zhou walked around and congratulated everyone individually, and of course we couldn't thank him enough for making these last two weeks so wonderful! EAC is truly blessed to have him for their China Coordinator. Anna will officially become an American citizen when we clear customs in Chicago on Wednesday night. What a moment that will be!
After one last dinner at Lucy's (great spring rolls and sweet & sour chicken, as well as American food and chicken congee), we went back to a couple of our favorite shops. The people here have been so nice and appreciative of our business. In the one shop, Jessica's Place, we purchased a number of outfits for Anna from a lady named "Sweet". After every purchase, she would say, "thank you for helping me". Sharon also purchased a few items from a girl named Judy. Judy is a Christian and she exchanged emails with Sharon. One last stop for almond cookies and it was back to the hotel to pack for our departure. We will leave for the airport tomorrow at noon. Our time in China has gone unbelievably fast. We have been so truly blessed by this experience and look forward to sharing it with Anna as she grows. We have purchased many gifts to tuck away and present to her on birthdays. We always want her to know what a wonderful country China is!
Thanks to all of you that have followed our journey thus far. The emails that we have received have all been amazing and such a significant part of our trip. We feel so truly blessed. Off to pack Anna's shoes (I think Sharon bought 15 or more pairs of "squeaky shoes" in various sizes!). . . stay tuned for more once we arrive home!
