Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Home
We're home. It was a long exhausting set of flights and Amelia didn't sleep much. She's asleep in her crib; so we're off to bed also.
Ok. A few more pictures.
Baby in the Hong Kong airport with the 747 that took her to San Francisco.
The new American at home with her big sister:
Ok. A few more pictures.
Baby in the Hong Kong airport with the 747 that took her to San Francisco.
The new American at home with her big sister:
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Consulate and visa
Consulate and visa (Wed 4 March)
We went to the US consulate to pick-up the baby’s visa. We participated with about 20 other families in an oath basically stating that everything on the immigration forms was true; of course, the oath got some a little choked up (so I’m told). We also got the “don’t open” package that we hand to US Immigrations in San Francisco. At that point, baby Amelia becomes a US citizen and her Chinese passport becomes useless.
We leave Guangzhou Friday morning for Hong Kong. Just after noon Fri 6 Mar Hong Kong time, we depart Hong Kong for San Francisco arriving early morn 6 Mar PST. We expect to touch down in Seattle just after noon on 6 Mar.
Thursday will be spent shopping and packing followed by packing and shopping.
We went to the US consulate to pick-up the baby’s visa. We participated with about 20 other families in an oath basically stating that everything on the immigration forms was true; of course, the oath got some a little choked up (so I’m told). We also got the “don’t open” package that we hand to US Immigrations in San Francisco. At that point, baby Amelia becomes a US citizen and her Chinese passport becomes useless.
We leave Guangzhou Friday morning for Hong Kong. Just after noon Fri 6 Mar Hong Kong time, we depart Hong Kong for San Francisco arriving early morn 6 Mar PST. We expect to touch down in Seattle just after noon on 6 Mar.
Thursday will be spent shopping and packing followed by packing and shopping.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tourist part 2
Tourist (Tue 3 March)
We applied for Amelia’s visa at the consulate. All went well.
We toured the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum. The museum was originally an Academy for the Chen clan (different character 陈 than the Amelia’s original Chen surname 郴). The museum had some stunning jade, ivory, bone and silicified wood art objects.
Monday night Amelia had a terrible time sleeping. I had to walk her around the island for about an hour to let her calm down then fall asleep. Tues night was a much better sleeping night.
Sleeping baby:
Baby with our other fabulous guide Lin:
We applied for Amelia’s visa at the consulate. All went well.
We toured the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum. The museum was originally an Academy for the Chen clan (different character 陈 than the Amelia’s original Chen surname 郴). The museum had some stunning jade, ivory, bone and silicified wood art objects.
Monday night Amelia had a terrible time sleeping. I had to walk her around the island for about an hour to let her calm down then fall asleep. Tues night was a much better sleeping night.
Sleeping baby:
Baby with our other fabulous guide Lin:
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Doctor’s appointment
Doctor’s appointment (Mon 2 March)
Amelia had her doctor’s appointment for her US visa. It looks like she got a clean bill of health; though we won’t get the doctor’s report until tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, we apply for her visa at the consulate.
We’ve mostly walked around the city. We went to a farmers market yesterday and saw live turtle, scorpions, snake, eel, frogs etc (nope didn’t buy any of those). Today, we went to a jade market and bought a few small things.
We’ve mixed up the cuisine. The first night we had a classic Cantonese dinner, last night we had American steak and hamburger. Tonight, we plan on real Italian pizza.
Smiling baby enjoying the warmer weather:
Amelia had her doctor’s appointment for her US visa. It looks like she got a clean bill of health; though we won’t get the doctor’s report until tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, we apply for her visa at the consulate.
We’ve mostly walked around the city. We went to a farmers market yesterday and saw live turtle, scorpions, snake, eel, frogs etc (nope didn’t buy any of those). Today, we went to a jade market and bought a few small things.
We’ve mixed up the cuisine. The first night we had a classic Cantonese dinner, last night we had American steak and hamburger. Tonight, we plan on real Italian pizza.
Smiling baby enjoying the warmer weather:
Friday, February 27, 2009
Off to Guangzhou
Sat. Feb 28
Yesterday, we picked up the baby's passport and the adoption certificate.
This morning, we leave Changsha for Guangzhou. Changsha is a beautiful city. Unfortunately, the weather has been cold (~38) and wet. We tried to explore some yesterday but the wind and rain made it miserable (even the locals thought it was a miserable day). They have some really nice parks here but we didn't get to see them.
The good news is that its about 70 in Guangzhou.
Here's a picture of Mr. Liu our driver and Ms. Anna (Hong Mei) our fabulous guide.
Yesterday, we picked up the baby's passport and the adoption certificate.
This morning, we leave Changsha for Guangzhou. Changsha is a beautiful city. Unfortunately, the weather has been cold (~38) and wet. We tried to explore some yesterday but the wind and rain made it miserable (even the locals thought it was a miserable day). They have some really nice parks here but we didn't get to see them.
The good news is that its about 70 in Guangzhou.
Here's a picture of Mr. Liu our driver and Ms. Anna (Hong Mei) our fabulous guide.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Orphanage
Orphanage (Thurs 26 Feb)
We drove about the roughly 350 km trip from Changsha to Chenzhou City to visit Amelia’s orphanage. We made great time until just about 3 kms from the city where we got stuck behind a huge multi-car accident.
After waiting about 1.5 hours, we got out and walked about 1.5 kms (yes, along the highway) where Anna, our guide, sweet-talked a traffic control officer to drive us to the exit about 2 kms away (so, yes we got a ride in a police car); the orphanage director met us at the exit. The last part was pretty uneventful.
We next took a tour of the new Chenzhou Children’s Welfare Institute. It’s a beautiful glass building just finished in December. Little Ting Yu spent the last month or so in this new facility.
We got to see her crib room and playroom. It’s a very nice space and the staff is rightly proud of the new facility.
The nannies had a field-day with her. She had some orphanage congee for old times sake. They put a little chicken soup and pureed pork to flavor up the rice. You can tell she loved the taste.
The visit lasted about 1.5 hours; about the time we were ready to walk to her finding spot the van driver showed up and we were able to pass along some gifts of clothes and formula. We then walked to her finding spot at the Suxian Theater on South Street. It’s the largest theater in Chenzhou. It’s about two blocks from the orphanage and is a location on a busy street with regular passersby. It was emotional to see where she spent part of the first day of her life but we took heart in imagining the great care her birth-mom took in ensuring she was found quickly.
The ride back (only three hours this time) was uneventful. We got back to the hotel about 7:30 pm pretty much exhausted but in the end it was something we had to do. And, we're glad we did.
We drove about the roughly 350 km trip from Changsha to Chenzhou City to visit Amelia’s orphanage. We made great time until just about 3 kms from the city where we got stuck behind a huge multi-car accident.
After waiting about 1.5 hours, we got out and walked about 1.5 kms (yes, along the highway) where Anna, our guide, sweet-talked a traffic control officer to drive us to the exit about 2 kms away (so, yes we got a ride in a police car); the orphanage director met us at the exit. The last part was pretty uneventful.
We next took a tour of the new Chenzhou Children’s Welfare Institute. It’s a beautiful glass building just finished in December. Little Ting Yu spent the last month or so in this new facility.
We got to see her crib room and playroom. It’s a very nice space and the staff is rightly proud of the new facility.
The nannies had a field-day with her. She had some orphanage congee for old times sake. They put a little chicken soup and pureed pork to flavor up the rice. You can tell she loved the taste.
The visit lasted about 1.5 hours; about the time we were ready to walk to her finding spot the van driver showed up and we were able to pass along some gifts of clothes and formula. We then walked to her finding spot at the Suxian Theater on South Street. It’s the largest theater in Chenzhou. It’s about two blocks from the orphanage and is a location on a busy street with regular passersby. It was emotional to see where she spent part of the first day of her life but we took heart in imagining the great care her birth-mom took in ensuring she was found quickly.
The ride back (only three hours this time) was uneventful. We got back to the hotel about 7:30 pm pretty much exhausted but in the end it was something we had to do. And, we're glad we did.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tourist
Tourist (Wed 25 Feb)
We visited the Yuelu Academy in Changsha/ As one of the four most prestigious academies over the last 1000 years in China, Yuelu Academy has been a famous institution of higher learning as well as a centre of academic activities and cultures since it was formally set up in the ninth year of the Kai Bao Reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (976).
We also went to an embroidery museum where they had some silk tapestries that took up to 3 years to make. They looked like pictures. We bought Amelia a little four panel silk picture set. It’s pictures of fish in the Hunan style.
We also took a quick walk along the Xiang River but it was pretty cold (~4C) and windy so we didn’t stay long. After a nap, we took a walk and went to local Chinese market. Pretty brave of us eh? Ok, we only bought water, soda and some Oreo cookies. I did buy a little rice wine. That stuff is strong.
Smiling baby:
We visited the Yuelu Academy in Changsha/ As one of the four most prestigious academies over the last 1000 years in China, Yuelu Academy has been a famous institution of higher learning as well as a centre of academic activities and cultures since it was formally set up in the ninth year of the Kai Bao Reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (976).
We also went to an embroidery museum where they had some silk tapestries that took up to 3 years to make. They looked like pictures. We bought Amelia a little four panel silk picture set. It’s pictures of fish in the Hunan style.
We also took a quick walk along the Xiang River but it was pretty cold (~4C) and windy so we didn’t stay long. After a nap, we took a walk and went to local Chinese market. Pretty brave of us eh? Ok, we only bought water, soda and some Oreo cookies. I did buy a little rice wine. That stuff is strong.
Smiling baby:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The hamonious period is over
The harmonious period is over (and that’s a good thing) (Tue 24 Feb)
Amelia slept through the night waking up at 5:30am but we expected that because that was advertised as her schedule.
We went over early this morning (9:00am) to return to the Hunan Adoption Administration Center. We signed the adoption papers which means that she is officially ours (her name is now officially Amelia Tingyu Trivers). We swore that we would not abandon her and would take care of her. We told the guide that “she is a keeper”. Of course that was translated to the appropriate Mandarin phrase. We then applied for Chinese passport and paid our orphanage donation.
The “harmonious period” is the period between taking custody of the baby and the finalization of the adoption. It sounds like our guardianship. We are now out of the harmonious period.
After lunch, we walked to a local baby store and bought some Chinese formula and some baby jar food. We also bought some formula to donate to the orphanage. We and our guide thought that would be a better gift than clothes or toys.
Smiling baby:
Amelia slept through the night waking up at 5:30am but we expected that because that was advertised as her schedule.
We went over early this morning (9:00am) to return to the Hunan Adoption Administration Center. We signed the adoption papers which means that she is officially ours (her name is now officially Amelia Tingyu Trivers). We swore that we would not abandon her and would take care of her. We told the guide that “she is a keeper”. Of course that was translated to the appropriate Mandarin phrase. We then applied for Chinese passport and paid our orphanage donation.
The “harmonious period” is the period between taking custody of the baby and the finalization of the adoption. It sounds like our guardianship. We are now out of the harmonious period.
After lunch, we walked to a local baby store and bought some Chinese formula and some baby jar food. We also bought some formula to donate to the orphanage. We and our guide thought that would be a better gift than clothes or toys.
Smiling baby:
Monday, February 23, 2009
Gotcha day part 2
This is gotcha day (Mon 23 Feb)
Crazy day. The baby’s were delayed arriving at the Hunan Adoption Administration Center due to flat tire on one of the vans. Our appointment was at three but the babies didn’t arrive until about 4:00. It was a long day for them, I’m sure with a long five-hour bus ride and the flat tire. Little Amelia Tingyu missed her four o’clock feeding and was certainly overtired. All the stimulation with about 14 other Chenzhou babies in the same state of over tiredness and hunger all crying. Poor baby. She finally cried her self to sleep back at the hotel.
The handover was pretty emotional but we were too overwhelmed by the amount of other families and babies in the room. It’s good to be back in the hotel with some quiet to let the baby sleep. Thank god for room service.
Here’s a picture of the little one with her nanny.
Here’s a picture of baby and mama.
We are officially in the "harmonious period" in that we have signed a form that says we will take care of the baby until the adoption is final (tomorrow).
Crazy day. The baby’s were delayed arriving at the Hunan Adoption Administration Center due to flat tire on one of the vans. Our appointment was at three but the babies didn’t arrive until about 4:00. It was a long day for them, I’m sure with a long five-hour bus ride and the flat tire. Little Amelia Tingyu missed her four o’clock feeding and was certainly overtired. All the stimulation with about 14 other Chenzhou babies in the same state of over tiredness and hunger all crying. Poor baby. She finally cried her self to sleep back at the hotel.
The handover was pretty emotional but we were too overwhelmed by the amount of other families and babies in the room. It’s good to be back in the hotel with some quiet to let the baby sleep. Thank god for room service.
Here’s a picture of the little one with her nanny.
Here’s a picture of baby and mama.
We are officially in the "harmonious period" in that we have signed a form that says we will take care of the baby until the adoption is final (tomorrow).
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Gotcha day morning
Today is gotcha day morning (Monday, 23 February).
We left our house on Thursday and stayed in Seattle. The Friday 20 Feb flight from Seattle to San Fran was fine and left us with only a short layover. At 11:00am we left San Fran and flew the great circle route over Alaska and Siberia. The flight was looooong. The ride got real bumpy over the mountain ranges in Alaska and Siberia. The weird thing was that the entire flight was in daylight which made it hard to sleep. The first six hours was ok; the last six lasted forever but eventually we landed at Beijing at 3:35 pm (Saturday). The layover in Beijing was 4.5 hours; it took us a little bit to figure out that we had to take a fifteen-minute bus ride to another terminal. We finally left Beijing at 8:00pm and arrived in Changsha at 10:15 pm. We got to our hotel at 11:00pm Sat.
The hotel is a stunning 5 star high-rise glass building. We got up the next morn and bumped into some other adoptive parents at breakfast. One of the other families is getting a daughter from the same orphanage in Chenzhou. Our guide (Anna) took us to the local Hunan Provincial Musuem which housed the artifacts and burial remains of a princess from the Han dynasty (2100 years ago). Some pictures are posted (sorry, couldn't bring myself to take a picture of the princess). The history is mind-boggling. The artifacts are incredibly preserved.
We later met up with the other two families and went to the local Walmart (yes, we did). The airlines lost on one of the families’ baby suitcase and had to replace baby clothes and gear. The store was packed. We were able to pick-up up a few things but really can’t buy too much until we figure out what formula the nannies recommend for Amelia Tingyu.
We went to dinner at a local restaurant and struggled to order. Most simply settled on the pork or noodles by pointing to the pictures on the menu.
Today is Monday morning. The Chenzhou babies are being driven up so we won’t get to see her until about 3:00 pm. That gives us the morning to take care of some of the logistics and paperwork. I’ll post as soon as we get back from picking her up at the Civil Affairs office.
We left our house on Thursday and stayed in Seattle. The Friday 20 Feb flight from Seattle to San Fran was fine and left us with only a short layover. At 11:00am we left San Fran and flew the great circle route over Alaska and Siberia. The flight was looooong. The ride got real bumpy over the mountain ranges in Alaska and Siberia. The weird thing was that the entire flight was in daylight which made it hard to sleep. The first six hours was ok; the last six lasted forever but eventually we landed at Beijing at 3:35 pm (Saturday). The layover in Beijing was 4.5 hours; it took us a little bit to figure out that we had to take a fifteen-minute bus ride to another terminal. We finally left Beijing at 8:00pm and arrived in Changsha at 10:15 pm. We got to our hotel at 11:00pm Sat.
The hotel is a stunning 5 star high-rise glass building. We got up the next morn and bumped into some other adoptive parents at breakfast. One of the other families is getting a daughter from the same orphanage in Chenzhou. Our guide (Anna) took us to the local Hunan Provincial Musuem which housed the artifacts and burial remains of a princess from the Han dynasty (2100 years ago). Some pictures are posted (sorry, couldn't bring myself to take a picture of the princess). The history is mind-boggling. The artifacts are incredibly preserved.
We later met up with the other two families and went to the local Walmart (yes, we did). The airlines lost on one of the families’ baby suitcase and had to replace baby clothes and gear. The store was packed. We were able to pick-up up a few things but really can’t buy too much until we figure out what formula the nannies recommend for Amelia Tingyu.
We went to dinner at a local restaurant and struggled to order. Most simply settled on the pork or noodles by pointing to the pictures on the menu.
Today is Monday morning. The Chenzhou babies are being driven up so we won’t get to see her until about 3:00 pm. That gives us the morning to take care of some of the logistics and paperwork. I’ll post as soon as we get back from picking her up at the Civil Affairs office.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Travel arrangement
We got our travel authorization yesterday and our consulate appointment today. Looks like we're traveling next Fri. A week from today!! Wow. Lot's of waiting followed by one week of prep.
More to follow. Amelia will be in a new home soon!
More to follow. Amelia will be in a new home soon!
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