Saturday, July 14th - 1st full day in USA and top 10 lists

Trying to get back onto US time....12 hour time difference.  Ran errands around town since we've been gone for 17 days!  Elise was a trooper.  Not sleeping much...but very pleasant.  She has no issue with the car seat despite never being restrained before.

The trip was an amazing experience with an amazing result:  Elise.  We are so blessed!  She's an amazing baby!


For fun, we've reflected on our time in China and would like to share 2 Top "10" lists....

Top 10 US things we missed:
1.  Diet Coke
2.  English written words
3.  Brushing teeth with running tap water
4.  Toilet commodes
5.  American TV (got tired of watching only James Bond movies)
6.  Readily available forks and spoons
7.  Toilet tissue in public bathrooms
8.   Non-cut fruit (i.e. apples, plums, etc)
9.  Using our cell phones (Jen especially since her iPhone broke early in the trip)
10.  Salad


Top 10 Things we will NOT miss in China:
1.  People cutting lines
2.  Being stared at since we were often the only Americans around
3.  Honking horns all day and night long
4.  Cars, bikes, mopeds, and trikes driving everywhere (including wrong way on the streets & sidewalks)
5.  People clearing their throats and spitting
6.  Umbrellas
7.  Wearing a swim cap in the pool
8.  Boiling water before use
9.  Young children and some adults relieving themselves on sidewalks or in public
10.  Seeing animals in the grocery stores or in restaurants prior to them being eaten

In all seriousness, our international adoption agency (FTIA) provided a very well organized trip.  All of our guides were excellent and insured that we were well taken care of. 

We hope you enjoyed reading about our journey. 

Friday, July 13th - Homeward bound!!!!

The day has come!

Spent the night near the airport.  Is a huge and beautiful airport.

After we went through security, we were greeted with many nice shops.  In our of our friends, the Giordano's in NJ, we snapped this shot.  It was the nicest airport/mall we've been in.  Stores like Jimmy Choo, Tiffany, Versace, Gucci, etc. 

Below is a our friend Jane (Stella's grandmother) getting her baby fix before we boarded.

Here's our flight pattern home.

Before take-off

We were very lucky.  No one selected to sit in the middle seat between Regan and Brett.....or Derek and I.  Made the long flight much more enjoyable.

Elise leveraged the middle seat as a bed.  Thank goodness she is small!  She got the most rest of any of us. 

15 1/2 hours later we landed in Newark.  Once we were in customs, we gave them the magical envelope.  Jen and Elise went into another room....and a few minutes later, were allowed to leave.  Elise is officially a US citizen!  We are SOOO glad to be home!

Thursday, July 12th Depart Guangzhou via train for Hong Kong

Today, we had our final favorit breakfast at the China Hotel.  Below is one picture of one of the serving areas.  Try to find the two poles standing up near the man with the red shirt.  This is where Brett spent a lot of time.  This is how they displayed doughnuts.  Brett often helped himself to a few doughnuts. 

 Elise eating congee next to Regan.  Seated near the window.  Nice view.

 We spent the rest of the morning packing.   You can see some people were more helpful than others.  I think below is an Elise sympathy nap (not wanting her to nap alone).

After we checked out, we hung out at the hotel until the bus came to take us to the US consulate to get the rest of our paperwork so we can depart.  Very pretty hotel roof. 

We took a bus to the consulate.  Brett enjoyed sitting in the back.

 Elise enjoyed being held by Gina, Stella's mom.

John ran in to get our paperwork while we waited on the air conditioned bus.  Nice!

The bus then took us to the train station.  Below are pictures taken while we wait. 

 John providing us instructions

 Regan and Stella (and Jane - Stella's grandma)

 Brett keeping busy while waiting with a hacky sack.

We cleared customs before boarding the train.  They took back our original entry card.  While we waited with for the train, we met a few more families traveling to Hong Kong and staying at the same Marriott.  They were very kind to allow us to share the bus with them in Hong Kong. 

The train was very nice.  Similar to riding the train to Washington DC.  2 hours long. 

Once we arrived in Hong Kong, we passed through customs.  While we completed paperwork for entry, Elise wailed.  Finally made it through so we could find the bus.  Loaded bus and went to Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott.  Took about 30 minutes.  Finally made it to hotel room.  Ordered room service despite it being so late at night.  Went to sleep to be ready to leave in the morning!!!!

Wednesday, July 11th - US Consulate, Pearl Market, and Beijing Road Street Market

Today we left the hotel about 9 am for our US Consulate appointment at 10 am.  We took this minibus for the 30 minute ride.

 When we arrived, John gave us our instructions and packet of information as he was not allowed to enter the security area.  He warned us since we were Pre-Hague that we'd likely be the last family so be prepared to wait a while.  No cameras or cell phones were allowed hence no photos.  We joined a large group of American families in the waiting area.  An American woman's voice came over the loud speaker to give us instructions.  She then had all parents recite an immigration oath on behalf of the children.  Since we were pre-Hague, Derek was told where to pay the Visa fee with US dollars.  We all waited as families were called one by one up to a window.  We were called as Derek was coming back from paying the fee.  Was pretty quick as she looked over our paperwork, put a few stamps on things, and then said we could leave.  Our guide, John, would return the next day on our behalf to pick up the final paperwork.  Once we land in Newark, we give the paperwork to immigration and Elise will be a US citizen.  We were happy that we were in and out pretty quickly...and that we did not have to stay til the end of the families.

John took us to the Pearl Market.  Was a multi-floor indoor building, similar to a US mall filled with jewelry stores.  The kids were grossed out when a little boy, wearing no pants, defecated and urinated on the stairs.  The dad just kept moving and didn't bother to clean it up.  You really have to watch where you walk in China.

This is the store John took us too as he said they could be trusted.  Below is a pix of the sign.  Beneath the sign are bags of pearls. 

More bags of pearls...pretty much everywhere you looked. 

In the picture above, the lady on the right is attaching the clasp on the string of pearls we selected while the one on the left is selecting pearls for earrings.

In the afternoon, we took our first of a few Guangzhou taxis.  Derek is riding in the passenger seat. 

Elise is relaxing on my lap in the back of the taxi.

Brett wanted to look for basketball shoes so we took John's suggestion to go to the Beijing Road Street Market.  It was a nice open air mall.  As usual, lots of people.  We kept getting bothered by street vendors trying to sell us faux watches and purses.  It was VERY annoying.  In fact, we're quite tired of being stared at.  At this shopping area, we were the only Americans there.  Everyone stares.  The kids are quite tired of it.  I explained how annoying it must be for celebrities.  Unfortunately the shoes were a bust.  No American brands...only Chinese. 

We wanted to finish some shopping so we asked a taxi driver to take us to a store we visited a few days ago.  John wrote it on a piece of paper that Derek showed to the driver.  The taxi driver took us to the wrong place.  In a grocery store, Derek asked a man for directions....he wrote them on this hand.  He was very kind.  Luckily we were only 3 blocks away.  As we were walking we passed a KFC and decided reluctantly to eat there for dinner.  It was a bad decision.  Let's just say, the popcorn chicken isn't like that at home (picture below).  Thank goodness I packed those bars! 

We made our way back to the hotel without incident.  Was a great feeling to be in familiar surroundings. 

Tuesday, July 10th - Trip to Chime Long Safari Park

Today was officially a free day for us.  We (ok - maybe only Jen) agonized about activities to do.  We heard great things about a safari zoo in Guangzhou but it was about an hour away.  I also checked the weather.  Temps in the high 90s...but heat index was 105.  Our guide also shared that while we could take a taxi to the safari, getting one back to the hotel might involve a long wait.  Our other options were to stay at the hotel and go to the local park.  At breakfast, we asked families who attended the safari zoo yesterday.  They talked great things about it and convinced me that it wouldn't be too overwhelming for Elise.  Luckily, our guide John phone our room this morning and offered to show us how to get to the metro to take the subway to the park.  We decided to take a risk and go.  On the train (both ways) and at the park, we were the only Americans.  It was a very strange feeling to be in the minority. 

Entrance to the metro....just outside of our hotel.

 Waiting for the train.  The train ride was about 45 minutes in duration.  We changed stops 3 times.  The trains were VERY crowded...many people pushing to get in or get out.  Once we got on the train, most of the Chinese people motioned for me to take their seat with Elise.  It was very kind.  John did an excellent job in helping us buy our tokens and showing us how to go through the turnstiles.  The signage was very clear with colors, numbers, and station names written in english.  We were able to navigate quite easily.  It was so very clean and well layed out.  Much cleaner than those in Chicago or New York.  Derek said it reminded him of DC. 

Once we made it to our final stop, we would take a bus transfer or walk about 8 minutes to the entrance.  We opted to walk.  It appears there are multiple parks at the same location (same owner name)....an amusement park, a water park, and a safari zoo park.  Below is a sign...we hoped it pointed us to the safari park as we have NO idea what it said.

 After Derek purchased the tickets, we posed for this picture right before entering the park.

Once we arrived, we took an electric cart to the north entrance of the park to take the park train.  Was a nice ride...lots of animals.  Funny thing is one can drive his/her personal car too.....along with the park "trains". 

Instead of boring you with many animal photos, we've included only our favorites below:

Brett feeding a baby tiger

 Regan feeding a baby tiger

Derek and Elise on the "train."

Derek and Elise in front of the giraffes.

We LOVED the pandas.  This funny guy was lying on his back and eating.  Seemed very laid back.

 We watched this group of 6 pandas.  Three of them were very intent to play with each other.  We spent a lot of time here.  It was also nice because it was air conditioned.  We left after the bears went to get a drink and sat in their water "bowls".  They sleep a lot...so we were lucky to watch this activity.  They were quite funny.  Even Elise seemed entertained.

Here's a snack we did NOT purchase...in the refrigerated cooler below....fresh crocodile meat with bones.   Only 90 RMB - about $15 US. 

We stayed until about 4 pm and then headed back.  We braved the metro again.  This time Derek asked for Regan to navigate us back.  He wanted to use it as a "training" session in preparation for her upcoming trip to Spain. She did successfully.

Hard to see...but the train had this high tech sign that flashed stops that had been completed...and identified which one was next.

 Derek and Regan on the metro.

When we got back to the hotel, we took Elise's picture with a future Gotcha day gift, the panda that is bigger than she is.  To celebrate future Gotcha days (the day she was given to us), we've been picking up small gifts from China to celebrate her heritage.  It will be a fun tradition to continue until she is 18.  Hopefully she'll forget she saw this....and be surprised when we give it to her in a few years. 

Elise was such a good baby.  It was very hot...but I think due to living in the orphanage with no AC, she's more used to the weather than we are.  She's going to be so easy to travel around with in the future!