This morning we all got up early so we could have breakfast and be ready to leave the hotel at 8:00 am for the 1 ½ hour drive to Xin Xiang City, where Zeke is from. In this province we are required to have the notary (a lawyer) appointment, and pay the orphanage fees, in person in his city.
The drive to Xin Xiang City, in a van we hired from the hotel, was excellent and thoroughly enjoyed by all. We wove our way through Zhengzhou, the capital city of the Henan Province, where we are staying, and made our way north. Soon after clearing the hustle of the city (translate that into millions of cars and bikes and scooters and people everywhere going somewhere very fast), we crossed the Yellow River and drove through farm land and small villages.
It’s amazing to see the vehicles that traverse the highways in China: tractors pulling incredible loads of hay, typically with someone perched atop; three-wheeled contraptions that look to be from the turn of the century; open trucks carrying pigs; and various vans, buses and cars. The speeds vary significantly between types of vehicles, and along the sides of the highways are men and women, with handmade brooms, sweeping the debris from the road. How anyone survives is a mystery to us. However, they not only survive, you rarely see a dent in a car, nor an accident. It’s just amazing.
Anyway, when we reached Xin Xiang City, we pulled into the police station lot and a car zoomed around us, honked and motioned us to follow. The car contained the women from the orphanage showing us the way to the notary.
We meandered through the back roads of the city until we came to a stop in what looked like a back alley of a dilapidated group of buildings. We all looked at one another, shrugged, got out and followed the women. We entered a courtyard of one of the two story buildings and were ushered up a very steep, narrow, set of cement stairs to a doorway with plastic strips hanging down to possibly keep things unwanted out or coolness in or something that we never quite determined. When we pushed past the plastic, we entered a conference room with a very long, shiny conference table.
Immediately people started scurrying around doing stuff. One woman had papers, one was setting out paper cups and pouring something from a small bag into each, another was adding water, we were being told to sit and that our passports were needed, and another was counting our children and laughing. It was quite a sight.
Our time with the notary was about an hour in duration, but very pleasant. We signed papers, answered questions, asked questions, and just enjoyed the visit as we waited for the official papers to be produced. Our notary this time, like during our last adoption in China, was a women. It’s interesting, but we’ve noticed that with both adoptions, all officials we’ve interacted with in China have been women.
After we received the three documents required, not only by China, but by the United States, we were finished. We left the Notary’s conference room with Zeke’s birth certificate, abandonment certificate, and adoption registration certificate.
From the notary’s office, our driver followed the orphanage personnel to Zeke’s orphanage, the Xin Xiang City Social Welfare Institute. We were ushered into the directors’ office and given bottles of water and paid the last of the fees required by China. We also gave them, at that time, the gifts we had brought for the officials as well as the orphanage.
We left the directors office and were taken up three flights of cement stairs to the area where Zeke lived. We saw his bed, his friends, and his nannies and were able to take many pictures. Numerous times at the notary office, and then at the orphanage, the women we had met on Friday and Monday from the orphanage, attempted to hold Zeke and he refused and held on to Joe or Steve. He was sticking close with us and it was clear to everyone. The orphanage director told us that he loved us very much. They looked disappointed that he clearly would have nothing to do with anyone from the orphanage.
Our visit to the orphanage did not last long. We hugged everyone goodbye and thanked them for their kindness and for taking care of Zeke. We all exchanged email addresses, as we did with the notary, and promised to send pictures.
We left Xin Xiang City and were back at the hotel by 1:15 pm. We had a quick lunch and the little ones took naps while the older kids and Steve went swimming. The rest of the day was uneventful and relaxed and, now, as far as China is concerned, Zeke is officially our son. The rest of the work to be done is for the United States and will be completed south of here in Guangzhou. Friday we are scheduled to fly to Guangzhou, the last leg of our trip.
Final note: Zeke had no tantrums today, willingly took one of our hands and walked to meals, didn’t mind being second in the bath tub, etc.. He also was much more animated, interacted happily and seemed so much more secure since the tantrum episodes of yesterday, when we refused to respond, or give in, to his tantrums. One area that might result in difficulties is the wearing of seatbelts. He definitely doesn’t like them in cars and it will be interesting to see what happens during our flight to Guangzhou.
At the notary’s office for the birth certificate, abandonment certificate, and adoption registration certificate.
