We have been on and off sleeping to catch up. We were completely dysfunctional on Saturday. Emma is having a fabulous time just taking it all in!
The one thing we worried about was the dogs because when we adopted Hope, she had a very hard time getting used to them. As you can see, Emma is doing just fine!! She has already figured out that treats mean the world to them and they will then do what she asked.
Pancakes with my sisters
Lunch at Zoups : )
Some shopping
So we didn’t expect anything less than a seamless trip home. It would only be fitting since our entire trip was successful. Great people, great new friends also adopting, and great kids!
Well, never count those chickens (as they say). We got to the airport in Guangzhou and said goodbye to our awesome guide and facilitator, Jason. We got to the security check point and they say “We cannot let your baby (they call all kids babies) through because her name isn’t right on the boarding pass.” I look at the pass and it is simply missing her middle name. They said in Chinese that the middle name and first name have to be written together. OMG! you must be joking. So, her Chinese name is Xie Xi Wa and the pass said Xie Xi. They wanted it to look like this Xie Xiwa. So, they send us back to the counter to get it fixed. We get to the counter and they say “we cannot fix that because we have no access to it in the computer”. Keep this part in mind for later in the story. So they cross it out and write it in the way they want to see it, then they stamp it with the airline desk stamp to make it official. They take and keep the other two boarding passes for Emma because they say at the next stop they will fix them because they will have access to do so there in Beijing.
We get to Beijing and we are a transfer flight so we go to security and they tell us that we cannot go through security to have the pass fixed at the gate because we only have an eticket not a boarding pass. We explain the above to them. The main security police woman calls United’s desk just to confirm that we are on the plane then we can go through and get it fixed. She comes back after about 10 minutes to say they are not cooperating and she is really mad. She said they told her that at the first check in Guangzhou (above paragraph) that they DELETED ALL OF OUR TICKETS TO GET HOME!!!!!!! We no longer exist! So they send us to the United Airlines desk where I truly thought I was never getting out of China. YES, WE WERE FUMING!
We stood there for 2 hours as they told us “too bad not our fault it was the fault of the other workers in Guangzhou on the first leg” and we cannot get you on a flight at this time. Oh …..really? To make a long story short, after 2 hours and 3 supervisors and a bunch of BS that they couldn’t find us seats on the next flight AND they would not pay for a hotel…. we told them we were not moving until they fixed the issue….. they found us seats on the next flight out.
This was the long flight and we were blessed with the two funniest and awesome flight attendants that anyone could ask for on a trip. US Immigration was great when we landed in DC and the best two words out of their mouths to us were “Welcome Home!”. AND THEN……. we get to United’s gate in DC where United decides that they are cancelling our flight to Harrisburg because there were more people that needed the plane to go to Philly. OMG!
Our luggage was lost then for 2+ hours because no one at Washington -Dulles told United they cancelled the flight so the bags sat there waiting to be loaded on to a plane that was not leaving. Yet at the time, none of the United workers could find these bags. During this time Bob goes to Enterprise to rent a car to drive home. Enterprise says “We dont rent one way anymore”. Tried to get online, but no internet in the bottom level of the airport baggage claim. OMG has now turned into different explicatives! My phone, of course, at that time died. No plugs in baggage claim. After walking to a plug and getting a small charge, I called Cayla at home to get online to rent us a car from any car rental that would go one way.
LONGEST DAY EVER (especially flying back in time which added 12 hours to the day that we had to stay awake to get our hours back in sync with this time zone).
A similar situation happened with me Delta 6+ years ago and I had to drive home from Atlanta. I never flew Delta again. I will never be flying United again either!
The day before our departure we visited the city zoo in Guangzhou. It was large and similar to any other zoo. The main difference is that Emma has not been to a zoo before so the excitement was incredible!
This morning (Wed) we visited the US Consulate to get the Visa for Emma finalized so it can be added to her passport. There were so many Chinese people waiting in line for their appointments so that they can travel to the US too (it was packed!). Think of Christmas shopping on Black Friday X 10! Essentially, paperwork is submitted and we are required to take the Oath of Citizenship for Emma. We were lucky to go when there was not a crowd in the adoption unit.
That was our last official business here and Emma’s passport will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. WOO HOOO! Just in time to leave early on Friday morning.
HAPPINESS!
Right down the road here from the hotel (walking distance) is the Nanyue King Museum. In the 80s, the locals had a piece of land they were to build on. Upon digging they found that they unearthed a rather large piece of history, Nanyue King Zhao Mo’s tomb. There were over 1,000 (at least) relics that are over 2,000 yearls old from the original tomb - a major discovery in China. It was very interesting! Glad that we could see it as it is a major part of the history of Guangzhou.
We took a tour of the Pearl River via the Guangzhou riverboat on Tuesday evening. It was really very nice. The Pearl River is named this because of all the pearl colored shells that lie at the bottom of the river in the section that flows through the city of Guangzhou. The last time we were here the river was filthy. This time they have cleaned it up a lot.
We ordered pizza to take on board for dinner. The first floor of the boat was a dining area, the second floor is also a dining area (but for the on board buffet), and then the third floor was an observation deck. They also had a juggling show for the kids.
Zhejiang Brewery, one of the three largest domestic breweries in China, is located on the Pearl River Delta within the city of Guangzhou. We tried some of the beer on Wednesday night at dinner. It was lighter than a Coor’s Light : )
We stopped in a great little shop for some gifts and they treated us to a traditional Chinese tea party. It takes forever! Even the Chinese people now think so…. traditions lost to time.
PS - Speaking of traditional things. Emma started secretly playing rock-paper-scissors with the Chinese lady sitting next to her. Who would have known that was a world-wide game!!
Guangdong Museum of Folk Arts and Crafts to show the most characteristic Guangdong architecture. The temple is a compound consists of nine halls, six courtyards and nineteen buildings connected by corridors, all separated by walls from the outside world.
The intricate carvings were amazing. The photo that looks like a painting of flowers is actually embroidery. Even close up it appeared to be a painting. Just amazing works of art!
We visited the temple in Guangzhou. It is one that is “real” and the community visited while we were there. Each community member visited and prayed to the different Buddhas. A service was going on as well. After entering by the mountain gate, the Tianwang Hall is the first hall you see. The Laughing Buddha is there with smile all over his face to welcome visitors. “Don’t Worry Be Happy” as our guide said. : )
PS- Banyan trees (as reflected in the name of the temple and the Train song Mermaid) are really cool! The roots grow up the trunk and they are huge.
Leola Elementary Friends - I am already training Emma for our favorite theme days - MINION DAYS!!
We left Shenyang on Saturday morning to fly to Guangzhou for the next six days. I loved Guangzhou the last time we were there and I am really hoping for the same this year. The last time we stayed on an island called Shamian Island, which reminded me a little bit of South Carolina (see photo below). The buildings on Shamian Island, including the hotel we stayed at, have been under renovation for the past 5 years so we could not go there again.
This time we are staying at The China Hotel, which is a Marriot. It is EXTREMELY nice!!! All of the adoption groups are now staying here because since the hotel on the island was renovated it also became very, very expensive. I am glad we got to experience it the first time.
Emma’s first plane ride was a success! Now if we are outside she points out every plane she spots in the sky. She was exceptionally well behaved too.
Poland Spring water delivery
Home Depot delivery
City flowers (we cannot even get one lightbulb changed where we live let alone all of these)
Driving on the sidewalk for cars (yes really!), motor scooters, and bikes are accepted. When you hear the “beep beep” get out of the way or they WILL hit you.
A whole new meaning to leaving your dog in the car.
Emma wants us to bring this home. : ) Silly girl! Although she pitched a fit about it. No not $899 , $149 US - Still too much!!
Yes, Walmart. The universal language of big store shopping. Except here, it is even less expensive than home. We needed to get directions to walk there from the hotel. So, the Concierge tells us in English and writes it down this way for us. TOO FUNNY!!
There has not been a lot to take photos of the past couple of days. We only successfully conquered a few airplane flights and a couple of restaurants. Now though, we have Emma. She traveled 3 hours to the city we are in, Shenyang. It literally took us 30 seconds to fall in love with her. She came right over and popped herself on our laps with a cute little smile. So, today (while I have an internet connection- which is hard to come by), we have some photos!!
Emma’s teachers and Orphanage manager.
Apps- the universal language! We didnt even have to teach her to navigate this iPad.
Lunch and food is always a hit!
