Friday, July 13, 2018

Operation Gotcha - Day 14

Both of us were up earlier than we expected and I am sure it was because we had a flight to catch. We quietly got ready as Blaize wants to eat as soon as he gets up and we are saving food we have in the room for the long flight home. We did the final packing and got him up and moving and walked to the airport which the hotel is directly connected to. We dropped our bags and went through customs in about 30 minutes - nice and easy! While waiting to check in, one of the other passengers mentioned that the Newark flight had been pushed back 10 hours!  Yikes! I’m glad we didn’t pick that one and also prayed that the Chicago flight was going to go on time and as scheduled.

We had a few hours to kill before boarding so headed to the United Club. We found a nice table and enjoyed a really good breakfast and kept Blaize happy until it was time to go. We boarded the flight and 15 hours later we were landing in Chicago. The flight was (thankfully) uneventful and Blaize did awesome. He cried a little bit and wanted to play instead of sleep at times but considering this is his 2nd flight and a very long one at that, he rocked it. Neither Julie or I got much sleep, and I keep telling myself that it will only help with starting the readjustment process to get back on our time zone.


Blaize officially becomes a citizen at his first port of entry and once we pulled out our brown envelope the customs staff sent us to a line for special handling. We turned the precious packet over and sort of cringed when the agent opened it up, but considering he is authorized to do it, that’s ok. They really hammer the fact that we are to not open it so seeing it opened was sort of a big deal. We got our bags and re-checked them and had to ride a bus to transfer between the terminals. Seems a common theme on this trip as we had a similar experience in Beijing though this was was arguably smoother.  We took the bus to Terminal 1, breezed through security and hung out in the United Club where we found a quiet corner to spend a few hours.


We drank plenty of coffee, ate some food, both good and bad for us and in general tried to stay awake. Blaize enjoyed looking out the window and onto the concourse below us, bustling with people. An older couple at behind us and we were cracking up at their conversation. It was like Archie Bunker in reverse with the lady in the couple delivering the beat down. Their corgi was cute and well behaved though Blaize was afraid of it. The time finally came to catch out flight so we headed to the gate and arrived just in time to board. Blaize was doing well on the flight until it was time to push back where he cried until we were up in the air. Considering the long day we’ve had, it was completely understandable. He eventually fell asleep and both Julie and I dozed off on the short flight.

We landed, got our bags and loaded into the car. My sister and brother in law had dropped our car off in the short term parking a few hours earlier so we didn’t have to wait for anyone and could roll ASAP. That was a huge help! This was Blaize’s first ride in a car seat and he was good for a bit but started to cry on the way home and kept going until we pulled into the driveway. I carried him into the house and he met the rest of his siblings who had been eagerly waiting to love on him. We stayed up for another hour and half and hit the hay hard, happy to be home and in our own beds.



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Thursday, July 12, 2018

Operation Gotcha - Day 13

Our final day in mainland China and we are finally adjusting to the time change. We got up around 7:30 and were down for breakfast a little after 8. Today we have nothing to do until 11:30 when we meet our guide in the lobby to collect our immigration packet for Blaize. We chatted with some of the other families and you could tell everyone was just clocking time until their paperwork was done. We have people from our group who are flying home late tonight/early tomorrow depending on how you look at it, others flying out tomorrow (Thursday) and one flying home Friday.  Other families in the hotel are flying home Saturday. I bet it is just a continuous cycle of people through here and I am sure a new batch will be arriving as soon as we leave.

We ate and went upstairs to get everything packed and ready to go. We tried to get Blaize to take a nap but he was having none of that. The time finally came and we hauled our bags downstairs and met our guide where we got the all important “brown envelope” with repeated instructions to NOT open it. We said our goodbyes and loaded into a van that will take us south to Hong Kong.

The ride was uneventful and it was neat to watch the landscape transition from hills around Guangzhou to the flatlands the further south we got. I think we all dozed off for a bit and I woke just as we were getting close to Shenzen, a border city between China and Hong Kong. Our driver stopped to use the restroom right before the border and then we got in line to cross into Hong Kong. When we did this the last time, we had to get out of the van, go through customs and wait for our driver on the other side. It was nerve racking as we had no idea how long we’d need to wait, it was dark and virtually nobody spoke English. It all worked out last time but we were hoping for a smoother experience. It was as smooth as could be this time and we didn’t need to get out of the van at all and cleared China and then entered Hong Kong within 40 feet of each other. It was a short drive to the hotel from the border and we checked in to our last hotel on this trip.


It was around 3PM and we were at the airport with nothing to do until our flight tomorrow at 11:40AM.  After we got settled and were pretty sure we were as prepared as we could be we decided to venture into the city and see the Avenue of the Stars.  We walked to the airport and bought return tickets on the HK Airport Express to the Kowloon station. About 20 minutes later we were in Kowloon and then we took the free shuttle to a hotel close to the harborfront. The driver must really like his job and he wrung every bit of performance out of his bus as he could. We walked down to the harborfront and I only was hit up to buy some watches 4 times. LOL.  This part of Hong Kong has some aggressive sales people. We were bummed when we got to the waterfront as the Avenue of Stars was under construction. I was hoping to get a picture with the Bruce Lee statue but it was not meant to be. We walked around for a hour or so and then made our way back to the airport.

It was getting late and we wanted to grab some dinner and settled on a restaurant in the airport that had nice dual language menus. We ordered and while waiting for the food to arrive, Blaize started crying. Ironically enough one of the other families from our travel group was eating there before they boarded their late night flight. They heard Blaize crying and recognized it from earlier in the week. Ha! The food was awesome and a good price so it was a win/win. We went to our hotel and hit the hay with dreams of home filling our heads.
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Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Operation Gotcha - Day 12

Another day in China begins with more or less the same routine. Get up, get ready, go to breakfast. We have nothing on the agenda today and are planning to go to a former British concession called Shamian Island. It has a number of examples of colonial architecture and for many years was the home of the US Consulate and medical exams. Hundreds, if not thousands, of children adopted from China have come through here and we read a lot of blogs before our first adoption about it.

We went downstairs to meet one of our guides before she left to return to Beijing and to have the hotel concierge write Shamian Island in Cantonese for us to give to the taxi driver. Once we were set, we piled into the taxi and a short 10 minute drive later, we were there. Cabs are cheap in China and this was 20 yuan, so about $3.50(ish). We walked around Shamian Island and right away you know how popular of a destination this is. There were are least 10 couples getting wedding photos taken in the park area and around the island. We walked to a hotel called The White Swan to take a picture on the famous red couch. The picture attached here explains the significance.

We were shopping for a traditional Chinese outfit for Blaize and found it in a store called Michael’s. We chose this store because the lady working there just said Hello. Compare that to the “Everything 30% off for first customer of the day” speel we heard from others. Haggling for a bargain isn’t my deal and it’s not Julie’s either, but it is very much a part of Chinese culture. For us, it is a reason to avoid a store, not become a patron. Either way, we found what we were looking for as well as a stamp that will be carved with Blaize’s name in both English and Chinese. The man who makes the stamps was out but they promised to deliver it to the hotel tonight so we took a leap of faith and hope they deliver as promised.


After shopping was complete, we went to Starbucks and enjoyed some cold, frozen frappuccinos. The temp was 95F with a feels like of 102F so cold drinks were nice. I met a nice Asian lady who lives in Ireland and is here for school who helped me get the order right with the barista. We sat on the shaded porch and enjoyed our drinks and caught up on the Thai cave rescue. After a bit we went to the park area to try playing bubbles. Blaize wasn’t too sure about them and after a bit we called it and walked to the White Swan to get a cab back to our hotel.

Back in the room for the day and we started to pack and organize as we leave tomorrow to head to Hong Kong for a night. We watched movies on TV and ordered dinner for the last time. While we waited for the food to arrive our message light came on the phone. We hoped it was for our stamp as we were reluctant to leave the room for fear of missing the call for it. When the food arrived, I stopped by the concierge desk and they had our package there so it all worked out. We ate our final Indian dinner in China and eventually went to bed. We were happy to see everyone was rescued from the cave in Thailand. Tomorrow we check out around 11:30 and drive a few hours to Hong Kong - we are close to coming home!
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Monday, July 9, 2018

Operation Gotcha - Day 11

Today was one of those days when you wake up before the alarm, which was good since we needed to be up and at ‘em early. We got ready and were down at breakfast a little after 6:30 and had no issues finding a table - imagine that. We were down in the lobby at 7:30 to load into the bus to go to the US Consulate. Today is the day we complete the visa paperwork for Blaize to come home, so it’s sort of a big deal. We also take the oath that will make him a US citizen but it won’t be official until we land in our first port of entry.

There were some communication gaps with our guides as we didn’t know that we couldn’t take anything in with us until we were on the bus. I think they do this process so much they either forget to tell us stuff or think they have when they have not, or tell some but not all of us. I like to think my attention to detail is pretty high and some of the misses we have had make me think we’re not all being told the same information. Nothing huge but frustrating at times. The consulate is next to where we did the medical check a few days ago, close to the CBD of Guangzhou. It’s a secure government facility with plenty of steel fence, guards and a lot of cameras. We all checked in with security and I had to leave my Garmin watch at the security check point as they wouldn’t allow it in.


We took the elevator to the 2nd floor and waited in a room with a 10 service “windows.” Windows 8 was for adoptions and it wasn’t open yet so we lined up with a few other families to get our number - we were #4. When it was our turn I took our visa packet from the paperwork party two days ago and gave it to the agent. She asked a few questions and then we were told to sit and wait until called again. While we waited, one representative from each family was asked to come up and we all swore that the information provided was true and he answered any questions we had about returning to the states. It didn’t take too much longer and we were all done and dismissed. This was a very different process from the last time where we took an oath of citizenship and what seemed like less paperwork. This was a little bit of a letdown and seemed less like becoming a citizen and more like just another step in the paper chase. Either way we were done, loaded back on the bus and headed to the hotel.

We had about 30 minutes at the hotel before we were back on the bus to take a tour of a cultural museum, the Chen Clan Academy. It is the biggest example of a rich family’s house in the city left in the region. It was pretty and interesting but it was also very hot and humid so we didn’t need the full hour to wander the grounds. They had some neat porcelain art, traditional examples of living quarters, some amazing ivory carvings and some other local “art.” We got back on the bus and returned to the hotel where we stayed the rest of the day. We are ready to come home and only need to wait for the visa to come back Weds morning. Tomorrow we are going to a former British property called Shamian Island to do some shopping. Nothing else is on the agenda and we’re more or less killing time. I think we’re both about done with the crowds and people rushing into the elevators as you try to get off, the constant hawking of loogies and smoking everywhere. It’s so close to time to come home we can’t wait!
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Sunday, July 8, 2018

Operation Gotcha - Day 10

Wow - 10 days in. We slowly woke up and got ready as there was nothing on the agenda for today other than a group picture at 9AM. We had to really search for a seat at breakfast and eventually found one when the previous occupants left and we swooped in like hawks to stake our claim. You could tell the place was hopping as the pineapple I saw on the buffet was gone by the time I got a plate and went looking for it. Additionally the French toast was out as well. No worries, they have plenty of other food to eat so it’s not like we were going to starve. We met the rest of the families on the stairs in the lobby and took our traditional group picture our adoption agency use on their Facebook and web pages. The rest of the families were going shopping and we opted to pass on that and went back to the room.

Our plan was to have Blaize take a short nap and then go to one of the parks nearby. He fought the nap and after a bit we gave up on it and went out. The heat and humidity here are crazy and while it was 85F the real feel was over 100F with high humidity. We were wet with sweat before we even walked the block to the park. Originally we thought this was the park we visited the last time we were here, but it didn’t take long to see it was not. This is Liu Hua park and as we walked around we

realized how big it really was. There is a large pond with a nice paved path all around, multiple islands that featured different plants and styles. For example one was hibiscus island, other was palm island and there was a rose garden given to the city by Frankfurt in Germany. There is also an amusement park with coasters and rides for small children, a bunch of ping pong tables and plenty of benches. All told we did 2.4 miles of walking and when we were done, we were soaked with sweat. Haha We stopped at a McDonald’s next to the hotel and picked up fudge sundaes and a taro pie. Taro isn’t a flavor we see back home and it was pretty good.

We went back to the room and slowly cooled off and waited for our laundry to return. We looked like we walked through the rain - sort of gross. Our laundry showed up which is awesome and Blaize eventually fell asleep. We have a river cruise tonight and wanted to make sure he got a nap. While he slept I fixed tons of typos on the blog posts and added photos to many of them. It was sad to see how bad the typos were but given the tools I had at the time, I’ll let it slide.

It was time for our river cruise so we we down and met one of our local guides who took us to the river terminal and bought the tickets for us. She made sure we got on and it wasn’t too long and we were off. We marveled at the amount of apartments along the river and the density of people here. As the sun went down the lights on the buildings came on and it was neat to see. There was an entertainer on the boat and she juggled balls and did other basketball tricks. It was a short cruise and we docked around an hour after we left. We got off, found our driver and while heading back to the hotel, ordered dinner for Julie and I using the same delivery service. We ate and watched some of the coverage of the Thai cave rescue situation. The hotel doesn’t carry F1 coverage so was sort of bummed that we will miss that.

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Saturday, July 7, 2018

Operation Gotcha - Day 9

Good grief, what is that noise? Oh yeah, it’s the alarm we set 6 hours ago. I crawled out of bed and got ready first and while Julie was getting ready I was checking out Google Maps to see what was in the area. Strangely enough, Google apps and social media work here in Guangzhou on the hotel’s wifi. I am sure our data plan will be happy about that! We woke Blaize and went down to breakfast. The buffet here was familiar from 8 years ago but different enough that we went in the wrong door. It is a much bigger spread than Xi’an’s and we enjoyed some different food for a change.

At 9AM we were downstairs and back on a bus to go get the medical exam. When we were here last, our son needed 3 shots and a TB test and we were hoping we didn’t have a repeat this time around. It was a 20 minute drive to the building for the exam, which was close to the Central Business District of Guangzhou. I didn’t go last time so it was neat to see the skyscrapers and modern glass and steel buildings. The medical checks all went well and in just over an hour we were all back on the bus. Best news of the day, Blaize didn’t need any shots! We saw quite a few other adoptive families there and passed some more on the way in. They made it as fast and efficient as could be.

Our next stop was Walmart for supplies. We had stocked up earlier in the trip so we were only looking for a baby carrier like we saw a few people in Xi’an with. Luckily they had one and I think at
least two of the other families bought one as well. We also picked up new squeaky shoes and a new pair for his Consular appointment. The Walmart experience here is different than what you think of back home. The store was super clean, and we didn’t see any of the “People of Walmart” - LOL. I wonder if we all showed up on a Chinese version of that site. They had an interesting selection of live fish and seafood, chicken feet and other things we don’t normally find back home. This Walmart was also in a large mall and not like a strip mall but like a department store mall.

After Walmart, we still had some time to kill before we needed to be back on the bus, so we swung by a Starbucks.  An Americano was just what we needed for a shot of caffeine and Julie enjoyed a Green Tea frappuccino. We walked back to the bus and looked at some restaurants nearby - “Bear and Crawfish” stuck out as an interesting combination. I looked but I didn’t see panda, polar or brown bear on the menu. They must have no laws about false advertising here - haha.  Once everyone else was on the bus, we headed to the hotel. The only thing left on the docket for today is a paperwork party where we assemble all of the documents we need for the US visa. We went to the room, collected our dirty laundry and I went down to the meeting room for the paperwork. It didn’t take long and we were done. I stopped by a 7-11 and picked up milk tea and water and went to the room. We watched TV, worked on yesterday and today’s blog and kept Blaize entertained.

While he napped I found a local food delivery service that would come to the hotel so we planned and ordered some Indian for dinner. It was delicious. I sort of feel bad about missing out on Chinese food, but I think Julie said it best that China is a “Vegan nightmare.” I’m not a vegan but even when you order vegetables there is a good chance you’ll have oyster sauce, some sort of animal broth or other “ingredient” that doesn’t work for her. It’s a real challenge to put it mildly.  Once Blaize woke up, we walked down to 7-11 to pickup some noodles and peaches for him to eat. It’s been raining for four hours and going much further seemed like asking for trouble. He’s enjoying the food and we’re all relaxing in the room. Tomorrow will be a slower day as we have a group photo in the morning and then we’re passing on the shopping tour. Nothing else is scheduled and it will be nice to truly relax and not have a schedule to follow. The only other time we’ll need to be anywhere at a specific time is in our room at 2PM so we can get our clean laundry back.  Sounds nice to me!
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Operation Gotcha - Day 8

Our final day in Xi’an started slowly which was nice. We had nothing to do until 2PM so why hurry?
We were downstairs for breakfast around 8:30 and it was the same old, same old. We ate and visited with some of the other families and a family who had adopted their daughter 14 years ago and were back for a heritage tour. Wonder how many years it’ll be before that’ll be us. We went back up to the room and packed up the suitcases. Pretty much all of our clothes are dirty and we’ll need to do laundry in Guangzhou. Once everything was packed we still had hours to kill. We watched TV and Blaize napped which was good as our flight wasn’t until later this evening. A quick lunch of leftover food from grocery shopping hit the spot.

At 2PM we went downstairs with all of our stuff and left the bags with the bell desk. The rest of the families were going to lunch across the street from the hotel so we joined them. We all had fun chatting and killing time and it wasn’t too long before we needed to get on the bus. We loaded the bus, which was a miracle once you see the pile of luggage 4 families has. Before we could go to the airport, we had to stop off at the civil affairs office and pickup the new passports. Our guide hopped out and it was only a few minutes before she was back.

We made our way to the airport which was a 40-ish minute drive. The last time we were here it was dark but now in the daylight we could see it was pretty big and new. Eight years ago when we were here we recall it was pretty dark and run down. Now, these terminals were big, shiny and very modern. Our guide helped us get checked in and we all were happy to be checking our luggage. Domestic security was no big deal and the first guard was nice enough to redirect all of us to “special services” and it wasn’t too long before we were in the terminal. We had about and hour and half to wait and sat around the gate area. It seems four adoptive families are pretty interesting and we had a lot of stares, smiles and finger pointing. Our flight was delayed for a bit while we waited for our inbound plane. Once it arrived we lined up and eventually boarded.

The flight was with China Eastern on an A320. The seats clearly were not designed for American frames and my knees were touching the back of the seat in front of me as soon as we sat down. Blaize was a lap infant so didn’t have a seat and we worried how he would do for his first flight. We pushed back and taxied to the runway where we sat for a bit. Flying in China is much like flying back home - hurry up and wait. We finally made it to the runway and were off. Blaize did great and once we reached cruising altitude, one of the flight attendants came and had the guy sitting in the window seat move to another seat further up the plane. This was AWESOME as it gave us the middle seat for Blaize and some extra room to spread out a bit. He was great the whole flight and enjoyed watching the lights below as we finished the 800+ mile flight to Guangzhou.

Once we landed it was a mad dash by everyone on the plane to stand up, even before we stopped. It was funny to watch as you get scolded back home for unbuckling your seat belts before the captain turns off the sign. We all made it off the plane, hit the restrooms and got all of our bags, which was good to see they made it.  Our guide in Guangzhou met us outside baggage claim and walked us to
the bus. As soon as we walked out of the terminal, the heat and humidity hit us like a wall. Guangzhou is more or less a tropical kind of environment and you can tell right away how different it was from Xi’an’s heat. This bus is bigger than the one in Xi’an and has luggage stowage under the seats so room for bags was no issue. We made the 45 minute drive to the hotel and checked it. It was now past midnight and we got to our room and started to get settled in. We eagerly awaited our bags which the bell hop brought up and set an alarm for 7AM. Tomorrow morning we go do a medical exam and need to leave at 9AM. This is going to be a coffee infused kind of a day I suspect.
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