Wednesday July 22nd-The Consulate Appointment!

Last night we ate with our group and went to the Portuguese restaurant for supper. We always enjoy these group meals as our guides order the food and we get to sample lots of dishes we likely would not even have the courage to order on our own. It is also wonderful to sit and chat with all the families and get to know everyone even better. By the time we were ready to leave for supper, the rain had stopped and it was actually a nice night. We got back and gave the boys baths and then we tried Mark putting Jackson to sleep and boom...he was out! I was hopeful we would also have an early night, but no such luck, suddenly I was wide awake. I finally got to sleep around 2:30 and we needed to be up at 5:30 to get ready for our consulate appointment this morning.

So we left with the group at 7:30 and traveled to the Consulate office for our 8:30 appointments. Since we have done this before, we were prepared for the lines and lines of Chinese people applying for their visas to the US, however the other families were not and it was shocking to them to see everyone waiting. Since we are Americans, we bypass the long lines and move to the American Citizen line, which is primarily families that are adopting. We had to wait outside 20-30 minutes and it was definitely not pleasant. The weather in Guangzhou is comparable to Florida and it is horribly hot and humid and the sweat just runs off of us. As uncomfortable as we were, I kept looking at the lines of Chinese people, standing in the direct sun, who likely will wait hours with some waiting all day, just to get the chance to come to the US...not necessarily to live, but to visit.

We finally got inside the nice air conditioned building and went to the 2nd floor and waited. One parent of each family was given various verbal information and then had to take an oath. We then wait for them to call our number and we go up as a family and they look through our paperwork. They scanned Mark's fingers on this left hand and then we waited to be called for a verbal interview. It is a pretty basic interview, where the officer asked us about Jackson's medical condition and any concerns we had. She was very nice and we chatted with her and she congratulated us and with that we were done and just waited for the rest of the families in our travel group. One of the families is adopting a 10 year old boy, they previously hosted this winter in their home, and Daniel actually was interviewed to make sure he understood what was happening and that he wanted to be adopted, which he did!

After the consulate appointment, we came back and changed Jackson into his little Chinese outfit we bought him for pictures. He looked so cute!!!! Yesterday when we were shopping, we also bought him some squeaky shoes so he had a blast walking all over hearing the squeaks. Jackson did great for our family picture, but when it was time for the entire group, he started screaming and crying. After pictures, Mark went to the departure meeting and I ordered Papa John pizza for our crew. I love Papa Johns and we don't have one anymore in Grand Island, so weirdly, the only time we get it is in China!

The rest of the day we had free time, so while Jackson napped, Mark took Blayten swimming. Later we walked to a noodle shop which is close to the hotel that many families before us have raved about. Not only did they love it for the good food, but it was very cheap. We tried to eat at the restaurant the other day, but it was swamped, so we went a little earlier and tried it. Honestly, I don't know at all what all the fuss was about. None of us were overly thrilled with the food and now Mark is not feeling good. He took some of the medicine our doctor prescribed that we brought with, so hopefully he will be feeling better soon.

Tomorrow is a free day, with the exception of getting Jackson's Visa!!!! There is an optional zoo outing, but we have decided against dealing with the heat another day and will just hang around the hotel and if the weather holds, go back to the Island to walk around. Here are a few pictures from today!