After a 1 1/2 hour delay and a gate change from gate 18 to gate 9, we were on our way to Guangzhou. Tyler was fascinated by flying and it didn't seem to bother his ears at all. Our guide, Xixi, met us at the airport. On the ride to the hotel, Xixi went over all our paperwork to see that it was filled out correctly. We had to make a stop on the way because Xixi had to pick up some paperwork. A couple who arrived earlier had some paperwork wrong and it needed to be redone. The US Consulate is very picky about the paperwork so I understand. This couple is from Las Vegas and the space had been left out in the town name! All our paperwork checked out, so I felt much better.
At the hotel we were told we couldn't have 3 people in a room with only 2 beds - we would have to rent a cot or get a room with 3 beds. The room with 3 beds was only 70 yuan per night ($9) more so we went that way. We also got our train tickets for Wednesday. Then Xixi showed us where Lucy's is - a very well known Western-style restaurant. While Ryan and Danni were ordering, Xixi, Tyler, and I walked a block down the street and got Tyler's picture taken for his American visa. Xixi made sure we knew the way back to the hotel and then left us for the night. After a very good meal (chicken quesidillas, burritos, and chicken/broccoli fettucini), we went back to the hotel. Only 3 more days and we'll be on our way home!!! I think Guangzhou looks very nice but by the time you get here, you just want to go home.
Tyler was really wound up tonight but finally went to sleep - about 10:00, the latest he's ever stayed awake with us. Xixi's assistant, Vincent, will be here at 7:45 in the morning to take Tyler and I for his medical.
Xixi noticed the double "cowlick" on the back of Tyler's head yesterday and told us that it meant he would be very strong-willed!! Everyone we see here comments on how handsome he is though. :-)
Then we went exploring. As we were walking down the sidewalk, a Chinese man stopped to talk with us. He was very nice and asked several questions about where we were from. Then we found out he is the owner of Jordan's, one of the well known local stores. He was going to exercise in the park, but invited us back to his store. He has a little of everything in his store and priced very reasonably. While we were shopping, Jordan made a calligraphy of the Chinese characters for Tyler and Danni's names as a gift for us. Jordan tried to get Tyler to say some English words but Tyler wouldn't. Tyler was talking to him in Mandarin though (and he did tell Jordan "Why should I talk English?")!! It surprised us that he started talking to Jordan because he is usually so shy with everyone. In Fuzhou a little boy found a baby bird in the park and wanted to show it to Tyler - but Tyler would have no part of going near the boy.
Then we went to the 7-11 and got ice cream. Walking out of the 7-11, Tyler walked in front of me and, in trying not to knock him down, I wrenched my back. I am so accident prone the last couple of weeks!!! After resting my back in the hotel room for a short time, Ryan and I walked over to the Bank of China and exchanged some of our money into yuan. The hotels here don't have currency exchange like all the others we've stayed in. We saw many shops we want to go back to and look around. But we haven't seen a shop where we can get just ordinary children's clothes for Tyler. It's mostly souvenir type things that we've seen so far.
Xixi requested that we be in our room at 11:30 (the time of our Consulate appointment) in case she needed a question answered. About 11:40 Xixi called to say all our paperwork was fine and we are free until 2:00 tomorrow (check out time at the hotel). She asked if we wanted to tour anywhere but we preferred to just wander and shop.
We wandered over most of the island today and saw a lot of the shops. The vendors can be VERY persistent about selling and if you do buy, they are even more persistent to sell you more. We still didn't find any shops that sold "ordinary" clothes or Gameboys. We may have to ask Xixi where we can go to get those in the morning.
This afternoon we went back to Jordan's and shopped some more. Jordan's advertises no pressure sales and it is so relaxed to shop there! For supper we ordered from Danny's Bagels, another famous place to eat in Guangzhou. It is delivery only - no eating in or pick up. They have pizza, all types of sandwiches, and pasta dishes (and some bagels!).
Two English words that Tyler can say very clearly are "Tyler, no!"
We met Xixi in the lobby and got checked out and loaded our luggage into our van. We now had a 1/2 hour to kill before we met Ken Kramer (another Harrah's client adopting a little boy) at the White Swan, so we went looking for Gameboys again - but no luck. Xixi said the only place that might have them was across town and we wouldn't have time to go there. (The 1 thing I had promised to bring home to Zach was a Gameboy - thus the frantic search for one!!)
Next we went to the White Swan and took some pictures by the famous waterfall - as well as one on the famous "red couch" (where all adoptive families have their picture taken). It is really a beautiful hotel. We met Ken and his new son, Jordan, and we loaded up for the ride to the U.S. Consulate. This used to be right next to the White Swan, but it has moved into Guangzhou - so it's about a 45 min. drive.
The U.S. Consulate has no sign or any other way to tell where it is. There is also no picture-taking or cameras allowed, so we had to leave our cameras at the security desk. We were the first ones there so we waited for the other groups to arrive. Then we went up to the counter and they compared our passport pictures to be sure we were who we said we were. After this was the group swearing in, which took about 15 seconds. We were told that over 7900 Chinese babies and children were adopted into the US in the last year.
Tyler is ours now!! So we headed off to the train station where Xixi got us situated and ready. Then it was just waiting until the train, so Xixi left us. Our train left Guangzhou at 6:20 and arrived in Hong Kong at 8:20. Tyler had to go to the bathroom right after they closed the toilets on the train, so he had to hold it for another 20 min. until we could get off the train and find the bathroom! But he did great.
We stayed at the hotel right across the street from the train station - a gorgeous hotel with a view of the harbor from our room. We went back across to the train station to eat supper at McDonald's. We were all exhausted and couldn't wait to go to bed. We had a suite with 2 single beds - but Danni slept on the couch in the other room. These were the hardest beds yet in China!
The drive to the airport took less than an hour so we got there in plenty of time. And our flight was delayed 1/2 hour due to the cabin temperature being too high. Finally here at the airport in Hong Kong, we found a store with Gameboys!! This is the first flight where we were not all seated together. We had 3 seats together and 1 in the row ahead. Tyler kept playing with the buttons on the arm rest and called the stewardess twice. Finally Ryan removed the button pad from the armrest and kept it in his lap.
After over 12 hours, we arrived in Los Angeles. I think all of us are sick of flying! We left Hong Kong at 12:00 noon and arrived in LA at about 12:00 noon the same day!! Our flight to Dallas was pretty uneventful. In Dallas, our flight was delayed 1/2 hour so we had plenty of time to grab a slice of pizza for supper. Our seats on the flight from Dallas to Omaha were really messed up. They had us in 26E, 27E, 28E (all right behind each other) and 9B. After the desk clerk saw Tyler, she knew this wouldn't work, so she switched the 9B seat for 27B, saying that was the best she could do. After getting on the plane, we found that row 27 is right by the stewardess' station, so 27B is actually 3 rows behind 27E!! After explaining our problem to the stewardess, we were told to sit in 26E, 27E and F, and 28E and they would work it out. Since it was a full flight, there had to be a bit of shuffling of passengers, but everyone was nice about it.
We arrived in Omaha about midnight and my daughter's fiance, Kevin, picked us up. We went to their house but decided not to spend the night, since Tyler was wide awake (it being noon in China!). Zach rode home with us and we arrived at home about 4:30 or 5:00 AM!