Farewell To China Hello USA!

Our week in Guangzhou is almost over and has been amazing in a lot of ways. The main purpose of our stay in this city is to acquire Cuyler's visa in order to travel to the USA - the US consulate that handles adoptions is located here. It is so amazing to know that as soon as Cuyler lands on the ground in Atlanta he will become a US Citizen! We have been staying in the Marriott China Hotel and have had a great stay here. Guangzhou is a huge city in Southern China of over 16 million - but it has been fairly easy to get around despite the traffic and population. Some highlights of this week - The Pearl River night cruise, Guangzhou zoo, a visit to a pearl wholesale store, Shamian island, and the huge city park across the street. The park is already preparing for Chinese New Year with amazing floats and displays scattered around the park. Inside the park are amusement rides that Dave and Kaori bravely rode on a very old roller-coaster and also the bumper cars. The appointment at the US consulate went very smoothly and all of our paperwork and visa is ready, right now we are packing in order to leave Guangzhou in the morning! Cuyler is doing well and we are all learning to be a family of four. Every day we learn something new about our son. Here are some random obversations about China over the past two weeks: The Great Wall is very long. The Forbidden City is really big. The smog, well you really have to experience it for yourself to understand how bad it is. You can see it, smell it, and taste it in your mouth. The Chinese are the craziest drivers in the world. The public restrooms do not provide toilet paper. If you have a taste for basically any animal that walks on the earth, you can probably find it here. (donkey anyone?) You can't drink the water. The Chinese will cut in front of you in any line you might be standing in it is just the way it is with a population of 1.3 billion. If your American with asian kids, be prepared to be stared at constantly - not in a threatening way just more out of curiosity. China never sleeps. Everyone we have met has been friendly. All the younger generation can speak English. Random people will stop you and ask you it you would take a photograph with them. You can negiotiate the price for anything in all the retail shops. All the traffic and store signs are also in English. China is a massive wonderful country that everyone should visit and we cannot wait to return to Cuyler's homeland someday. One last thought, do not order spaghetti if you see it on the menu in China, it kind of taste like a Mcdonalds cheeseburger.

More Harris Family Adventures in Zhengzhou

Samantha and I can now check off another item from our bucket list - "take your sick daughter to the hospital in a foreign country where you can't speak the language." Of course I am joking now since everything is fine with Kaori, but really this is a parent's worst nigtmare. Before our trip, Samantha was so diligent about preparing medicine for Cuyler for any contingency we might encounter with Cuyler leaving the orphanage. It did not cross our minds that Kaori would be the one needing medical care! Kaori was running a temp of over 104 and we knew her body was fighting something. We consulted with our guide Rita that we needed to get to a hospital. Luckily there is a hospital within walking distance of the hotel. So Cuyler stayed with Gmama and Pop while we hiked over to the hospital. My mind was racing with thoughts like what if they want to keep her overnight? How do we get Kaori back to the states ASAP if we need to leave? The hospital experience was bizarre to say the least. We were in a waiting area on the 3rd floor for the pediatric dr to return to her office to see Kaori. An older Chinese lady started scolding us for not having Kaori in enough layers of clothes and that her coat was not zipped. Of course to us it felt like an oven in the room - but again they do things differently over here. The older lady was speaking in Chinese but I could understand her very clearly - she was saying "Of course your daughter is sick you stuipid idiot! You can't even dress her properly! Idiot!" Ok maybe she was not that harsh but that was the general sentiment. I could see the "mama bear" look in Samantha's eyes and that she was ready to pounce on everyone and tell them to shut up and leave us alone. Everyone stood around us staring at Kaori and I could feel them judging us - it was just a very bizarre moment. Then the dr. returned. Normally in the states the dr sees you behind closed doors. Not in China. Everyone in the waiting room now piled into the dr. office to watch the episode unfold. Then they pricked K's finger for blood and then came the prognosis. Kaori has a bacterial infection and they asked us if we wanted an IV or antibiotic medicine. We chose the medicine. We survived and thank God Rita was with us the whole time translating and guiding us thru the hospital. I will say this as a positive - the whole hospital trip only cost us around $12 US Dollars and that included the medicine. Praise God Kaori is acting perfectly fine, the fever is under control. Just another day in China!

Cuyler is Here!

Well the Harris family has had an extremely crazy busy and moumentus day! On Tuesday we went back to the registration building and signed the documents that finalized our adoption and we are now Cuyler's family forever! Everything happened very quickly and was very organized. After a few photos, it was back to the bus for a short trip across town to the notary office. After another round of documents and photos with the Chinese officials, we received the notarized version of Cuyler's adoption certificate. Again, everything was very organized. Cuyler has slowly been warming up to us with a few smiles and a couple of words and he loves to eat! In the afternoon, we hopped in a tiny mini-van with another family for a 2 hour drive to Luoyang where Cuyler's orphanage is located. Riding in the little minivan gives you a totally different perspective on the madness and chaos of the traffic in China. Luckily we had a very good driver and we made if safely to Luoyang. First, we went the central police bureau building to start the paperwork for Cuyler's passport. Afterwards we were fortunate to have enough time to visit Cuyler's orphanage. We arrived at the orphanage and were welcomed by the director. We gave her a duffel bag of clothing and other donations we brought with us from the states. Next we took an elevator to the 3rd floor and we were able to see Cuyler's playroom and the large room where Cuyler slept every night. We were allowed to take pics and video the whole time. A lot of Cuyler's nannies and caretakers were there to greet us, he was all smiles the whole time. It was so great to see that Cuyler was well-cared for and loved at this place by many people. When it was time to leave, the nannies handed Cuyler back to Samantha and told him, "here is mama". Cuyler gave his mama a super big grin and was excited to return to his mom and no one else. Cuyler already knows his mama!! We were so happy and thankful that we could visit the orphanage. An organization called Half The Sky works in the Luoyang orphange and before we left, the director handed us a file of pics and progress reports of Cuyler's first 2 years! What a treasure and gift! We now have many new photos of Cuyler and we will get the file translated when we return. It was time to leave the orphange for the long drive back to the hotel. It was like we witnessed a miracle in Cuyler. His face and eyes transformed into pure happiness in the car - he was so happy! He began talking and babbling and laughing while sitting in our laps. Cuyler somehow understands that we are now mommy and daddy and big sister. He somehow knew in his heart the he was saying goodbye to the orphanage and hello to a new chapter in his life and is embracing it! Cuyler is the bravest and most courageous little boy I have ever met. It truly was a momentus and great day for us.

Cuyler Day Has Arrived!

We arrived in Zhengzhou yesterday afternoon. The flight from Beijing to Zhengzhou was around 2 hours. It was smooth and uneventful. We have 7 families in our group and everyone has been very good about being on time and in the right place. We arrived at our hotel, checked in and then had about 45 minutes to go and find lunch. We ate at a place called New Island Coffee and it had both an English and Chinese menu. But, we still had trouble communicating with the waitress. We have learned that China is not big on paper. They do not give you napkins, you always have to ask for them and most restrooms do not provide toilet paper, you have to bring your own. BYOTP! The restrooms are squat style, which has been a bit of an adjustment. Kaori is not a big fan......I am dealing with it! Anyway, our lunch was delicious and we were thankful to have something warm and yummy. At 3:00, Dave went to the bank to exchange money for our time here in Zhengzhou. We met back at the hotel and then we all walked down the street to Walmart. That was an adventure! The drivers here do not wait for walkers. They WILL hit you, so you have to be careful. Scooters and motorcylces are allowed to drive on the sidewalks and there are millions of them zipping around, not to mention the regular bicycles with three people riding on one. It is quite the sight! We arrived at Walmart to get some items for Cuyler. Diapers, wipes, formula, etc... It was a zoo! So many people, loud music, people speaking into megaphones and it was about 85 degrees inside. I took a few pics of the meat section. Wow!Whole animals just hanging side by side, piles of unpackaged raw meat sitting around on different counters. So different from the WalMarts in the US. We got what we needed and walked back to the hotel. Kaori slept the entire time! From the minute we left the hotel to the time we got back she was sleeping in her stroller. What a blessing that stroller has been! We were all totally exhausted by 8:00 pm and went to bed. The hotel here is nice and the beds are much more comfy than in Beijing. This morning we are up early and I have been getting Cuyler's things ready! We leave at 9:30 am to drive to the government office where we will be meeting our son for the first time. I have a little backpack for him with some toys and snacks to hopefully help him to feel more comfortable. We are so excited and also nervous for him. We just know he is going to be scared. The paperwork we received yesterday stated that he is very quiet and likes to play by himself. That he gets nervous around strangers. Poor guy. We are nervous for him. But, we are also excited! Cannot wait to hold him and see him face to face. And of course, to see his sweet smile for the first time will be unforgettable. But, we may have to wait for awhile for him to smile. That is okay, we can wait. We are interested to see who he bonds to first. So much is going through our minds! We also need to ask questions about his treatment for his foot. See, my mind is racing! Much love to all and keep all of us in your prayers today. Today we declare January 14, 2013 Cuyler Day!

The Great Wall and More

I am sad to say that for some reason blogger will not allow me upload any photos. I will add some to facebook if you would like to see some from our trip thus far.

Around 5:00 pm yesterday Kaori hit her wall. She was exhausted but we still had a dinner to attend and then a quick walk back to the hotel. She slept through the entire meal which was consisted of 20 people crammed around a circular table sitting on tiny stools. The servers brought out soooo much food! Dish after dish piled on the lazy susan in the middle of the table. We did not eat it all but it only came out to $6.45 a person. So much for food for so little money! Everyone slept okay. Dave is still waking up around 4 am feeling pretty awake. Jet lag still hanging on I guess. We are thankful for the We will enjoy it forever.

The Great Wall was as spectacular as you would imagine it to be. Steep stairs and uneven walkways. Huge and magnificant. Amazing. We were thankful to have the opportunity to see it. Once again, Kaori was quite popular, but this time is was not the Chinese that wanted to take her picture but rather Iranians and Iraqians. Many people stopped and asked if they could have their picture made with her. It was bizzarre, but they were all very friendly and were saying to us that they love Americans and we could be friends even though our goverments are not. It was interesting.

We headed to another big lunch after the Great Wall Tour followed by a quick walking tour outside of the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium and Water Cube. They were soooo cool to see!

A few observations:
-Santa Clause is still plastered all over the place, his big jolly white face is stuck on almost every shopping window.
-The news stated that a cold front is coming and will hopefully help to clear out the smog. It is thicker than normal right now.
-So far we have been given forks at every meal
-Either the places we are eating at are not that authentic or The China Queen in Palmetto does a pretty good job
-Alcohol is served at every meal

Tomorrow we fly to Zhengzhou. We leave the hotel at 7:30 am. I will try to post again tomorrow night!

First Full Day In China

We are here! It is about 4:00 on Friday afternoon and we are just taking a quick rest before we going and have Peking Duck for dinner. Our plane ride yesterday on Korean Air was smooth and nice. We flew into Korea and that flight was 15 hours. We had about 2 hours in the airport to kill and then flew into Beijing. Our final plane ride was only 2 hours, so that was nice. We have always known Kaori was a good traveler and she did not dissapoint yesterday! Wow, what a trooper! (right now she is up in the room with Gmama taking a rest). It was a long day of travel yesterday, but everything went very smoothly. We hooked up with our CCAI guide very quickly at the airport and have just been following his lead. Our hotel is very nice and we enjoyed a yummy breakfast buffet this morning. We went on a city tour today. We saw the old part of Beijing called the Hutong. We were carted around in the rickshaws and that was fun. We also toured Tinnamen Square and then the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was humongous. As the day passed, we felt that the tempature was dropping and by the time it was time to come back to the hotel we were all pretty cold. Tomorrow we get to see the Great Wall and then the 2008 Olympic Bird's Nest and Water Cube.

We read about the pollution in so many books and now that we are here to experince it for ourselves, it is pretty amazing. To me it smells like fireworks. You know that smell that hangs around after a fireworks show, well it smells like that everywhere you go. Even indoors. It is very strong. The haze is thick as well.

Another observation is that people are very interested in Kaori and very friendly to us in general because they see her with us. We passed a group of middle school kids and they were staring at us and Kaori for a long time. It was funny!

Kaori is doing great and is excited to meet her baby brother! We are getting closer and closer to that great day! Sorry for not posting any photos right now. I left the camera cord in the hotel room and I am too lazy to go get it! We only have free wifi in the lobby of the hotel, so I am making a special trip down here to update our friends and family back home!

The Packing Has Begun

Dave took Kaori out for the afternoon. They went to Monkey Joe's, this jumpy place in Newnan. She was so excited and told me, "you can't come Mom, it is just me and my Daddy".  I gladly smiled and said, "okay Kaori".  It was sweet that she was excited to be out with her Daddy and sweet that he would take her and to be honest, I did not want to go. I just wanted to rest. I think that I might be feeling better. I went back to the Dr. today and after crying in their office because the Dr. spent all of 45 seconds with me and left without telling me anything, I felt empowered.......right after I cried and felt sorry for myself. I went to CVS and watched a rude man yell at an elderly lady because she got in front of him in line after "waiting" her time while sitting in chair. I mean, she had to be 80 years old and clearly could not stand in line with the rest of us. He barked at her and then grabbed his kid (poor kid) and stormed out of CVS while shouting. Wow. I got some super strong Ibuprofen and steriods and went home. I decided that this sinus infection was not going to ruin my joy these final days before we leave to meet Cuyler. When I got home, Dave suprised Kaori and me with a day out with Dad! They left and I picked up the house a bit and then laid down for an hour or so. I could not sleep but it felt good to rest. Once I got up, I started packing and have not stopped. I have been washing Cuyler's clothes and trying to figure out how we are going to get everything we need into these suitcases. It is kinda fun! I have been making lists and putting together everything that need's to be done while we are away. My sister's have our return home all organized and planned out. It will be so wonderful to come home to a house with grocery's, heat on, lights on and dinner in the crock pot. What great sisters I have! I also finally sat down and decided to post a few pics from my surprise baby shower back in November that my MOPS leadership team family gave me! What a special day that was for me.I felt so special and loved getting gifts for my sweet boy. So many people are excited about him and I am so thankful for that!

 I loved my SURPRISE shower! MOPS is great!

 The beginnings of our packing!

 My first time packing for a family of four!