Travel Itinerary

Weather in Nanning: 78-91F
Hong Kong/Guangzhou 81-89F

Sorry I haven't posted in weeks. We had to wait for our appointment with the American Consulate to be set. And it was! So now we have a complete itinerary in China, and all flight arrangements have been finalized. It has taken a good week for all that.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to see Kevin's aunt, uncle and cousins in San Francisco as we had planned, since the adoption agency routed our entire travel group (20 people) through Los Angeles on the return flight. I didn't want to post information until we had emailed them first. What a disappointment! We'll have to wait until Thanksgiving to see them, instead. It's a huge holiday in Kevin's hometown, since almost all of the family makes it back home to celebrate. And this year there will be 3 new baby cousins--Marie, Elizabeth, and Emily, all around 1 year old--who will meet each other!

We're off to China in a mere 7 days! We'll be gone July 6th through 21st. Here's the itinerary:

7/6 - 7/10, USA to Hong Kong

We fly from Orlando to Cincinnati to San Francisco—OY!--and meet our travel group. We'll travel with 8 other adoptive families. This group will stay together the whole time were in China, providing each other support as we experience the journey of our lives. We'll even be seated together on the plane! Kevin and I have our special "Born in Our Hearts" luggage tags so folks can recognize us. Other families will sport red bandanas on their suitcases.

The group leaves the U.S. for Hong Kong at 1:20am--another Oy!--arriving the next day, where we're welcomed by our adoption agency's Chinese representative. These representatives meet us in each city and will remain our guides during our stay. They help us with our paperwork, make sure we make all
appointments, act as tour guides, help with the babies, and make our travel arrangements. They're incredible, and families usually stay in touch with them long after their trip.

We'll be staying at the 5-star Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, where we'll spend a few days trying to get past the inevitable jet lag. I hope we remember what we see and don't just stagger down the streets in a fog! Here’s another side of natural Hong Kong.

7/10--7/16, City of Nanning, Guangxi Province

On July 10th we leave Hong Kong and fly to Nanning (Note: this is an interesting website by a man who helps arrange marriages with Nanning girls!). Our next agency representative greets us and takes us to the Wharton International Hotel. Again, we're given time to rest up, so we can prepare for...

7/11, GOTCHA DAY!! Of course the day starts with paperwork, then we travel by bus in the afternoon as a group to another hotel to receive our children!! The children are bused in several hours from Cenxi City orphanage. This is when we first meet Emily!!!! We'll also meet the Orphanage Director and her staff. We hope we'll meet Emily's nanny, but we're not sure. We'll ask questions about Emily's care, her feeding and bathroom schedule, and her overall likes and dislikes.

The next few days are also spent bonding with Emily. Kevin and I will both have to care for her to make sure she bonds to both of us. This is when we see Kevin change his first poopy diaper ever! We are both expected to care for her equally, even if she takes to only one of us, which is common. Over the next few days we'll also see more paperwork as we apply for Emily’s passport. We'll go shopping at a local department store, and take city tours. We're told we'll generate a lot of interest amongst the Chinese, who don't see Westerners often in this area.

Between 10-30 people could follow us at any time, staring and gesturing. It's considered acceptable behavior amongst the Chinese. "Clothing police", or little old ladies, will cluck at us in Cantonese and try to cover any babies with exposed arms and legs. The Chinese cover their children carefully, even in hot weather! We're told to bring light cotton blankets to cover the babies if needed.

7/16--7/20, City of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Next, we fly from Nanning to Guangzhou, meeting another agency rep. We're very spoiled by now, especially since we'll stay at the very famous White Swan Hotel. Hundreds of families from around the world pass through this hotel each month with their adopted babies. The famous Red Couch is in the lobby, where travel groups place their children for a group photo. Guangzhou is considered a very family friendly place, especially to adoptive families. Check out Sherry's Place, where strollers are available for free to adoptive families. Or, check out Danny's Bagel, where we'll go if crave American food. Check out the "Guangzhou" link. It's fun reading!

7/19, U.S. Consulate appointment, to turn Emily into an American citizen. This is the last appointment of our trip! Hurray!

7/20, Back to the U.S. Consulate to take the citizenship oath in the morning. I wonder if Emily has to hold her hand up? Goodbye China, we leave Guangzhou for Hong Kong just before midnight.

JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT??!!! Anyway, we’re going home!! The minute Emily's feet touch American soil, she's a full-blooded American citizen!!!