The end is near...

We have the privilege of being in China during the Autumn Moon Festival. Primarily this is a time to be with family, to enjoy being together and go out to eat together. Snoopy’s parents invited us to join them and some other friends for dinner. We had a lovely night, except for that Daniel’s poor manners and Cosette’s absolute exhaustion from the previous day’s trip. It would be the understatement of they year to say the kids were difficult to manage. The restaurant had a glass wall overlooking the Pearl River and Guangzhou, so we were able to watch the moon rise over the horizon. There were toasts to the new moon, to friendship both new and old. It would have been a lovely evening if I was not so completely consumed with the kiddos.

Guangzhou and more specifically Shaman Island have changed a lot in the 6 years we have been away. The most glairing change is in the prices of things! Everything is very expensive, it seems even for western standards prices are high. John and Daniel went to dinner at our favorite restaurant on the island, Cow and Bridge, while Cosette and I were away. They shared an entrée with two bowls of rice and drinks, for $40 dollars. Prices in the stores have doubled and tripled also.

We have now joined the travel group from our adoption agency. There are six other families I believe. They have been together as a group for the majority of the trip. There are several girls close to Cosette’s age in the group and Cosette quickly made friends with a few of the girls. It is nice for her to have some English speaking friends for a few days. Unfortunately, Daniel was jealous and clearly felt left out. You can understand, she has been his companion and friend for the past two weeks and she was suddenly gone, leaving him alone with mom and dad. I’m sure he was confused also. On the bus Cosette sat in the back with her friends while Daniel sat with me. Periodically he would look back there and yell “jie jieh” (big sister). It was sweet to see him concerned about and miss her.

Yesterday was another outing, this time to a safari park where we road a train through a wildlife park, watching all the animals from all over the world. It was nice that we didn’t have to walk in the intense heat. It’s between 95 and 100 degrees here during the day with high humidity. After we got of the train, we walked to the Panda display. This time there were a dozen or more pandas to see. Again, a highlight for Cosette. We got separated from the group for a while, which was evidentially stressful for the group, but we were enjoying our selves.

Today, Tuesday, we take Daniel to his medical exam. The U.S. government requires this, not sure exactly why. Then we work on paperwork for the U.S. visa. I’ve filled out all our forms, but the guide needs to double check everything. Tomorrow the forms are taken to the U.S. Consulate so Daniel’s entrance visa can be issued. Thursday we have the official searing in ceremony. If it’s like last time, the big group is asked to all raise their right hand and promise to parent our children, and some other things I don’t remember. No big deal. Friday we head home! Our trip home will be long and grueling. We leave early on Friday; fly from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, collect our bags and transfer to our international carrier, United. We then take the 12.5 hour flight to San Francisco, transfer again and fly home, arriving about 4 p.m. Friday afternoon at DFW finally! We will be glad to be home. This has been a very long, tiring, expensive, difficult trip. It has also been a very wonderful, fun and exciting trip. We will be happy to be home.

Thanks for following along with us.

Tonya