Today was a pretty important day. We had an early morning appointment with the United States Consulate. All adopting families must go through this process here in Guangzhou, which is in Guangdong Province.
Seven of the twelve families had early appointments and the other five families came a little later.
They are very strict on what you are allowed to take into the building with you. Cell phones are one of the things not allowed so although this was one of the most important days of our trip we just have a couple photos outside the US Consulate building.
Once inside the building we take a number from a window and wait our turn. It definitely felt like a government run building, reminiscent of a social security office.
The first time we had to go up to the window and provide some specific documents such as Ruth's Chinese passport, our passport copies, the medical paper from the medical clinic check that was done Saturday, and the immigration documents we filled out previously. Trent just had to hand these over to the woman who looked them over and made sure they were all correct.
Once this was done they called one person from each family up to the window and had them take an Oath. They had to raise their right hand and swear that all the information provided is true under penalty of perjury.
The last time all three of us had to go up to the window and speak with the supervisor, who actually is from Maryland. He asked a few questions about how things are going and made sure that the medical information provided to us was accurate and asked about the donation we made to the orphanage as sometimes they ask for large donations which they are not supposed to do. I believe the supervisor asks this to make sure everything is above board and legal. Since everything was good we were able to go.
We got back to the hotel and it was only 10:30 even though it seemed later. We have to wait for the visa to process which takes two days. We will get Ruth's entry visa into the United States on Thursday and we leave the country on Friday! We can't wait to get back home.
The rest of our morning was spent lazily in the hotel.
Ruth attempted to put on Trent's shirt.
She read the room service menu and a book while hiding behind a chair.
We ate lunch at McDonald's. Trent was so psyched to try this German Sausage Double Beef Burger. The huge advertisement just outside he McDonald's shows two juicy beef patties and what look like two full size hot dogs on top and a layer of mustard.
Reality was sadder than advertised. Ruthie's chicken nuggets were served with sweet and sour sauce, much to her delight.
This was the McDonald's delivery driver. He puts food in a box and puts it on the back of a bicycle and away he goes. It was very interesting. Also, you may notice Ruth's open cup in the pictures. Due to her cleft palate being open she cannot drink from a straw or a sippy cup as she can't form a suction. She does amazing drinking straight from the cup and rarely spills.
After her nap we played outside in the hotel's play area. This hotel really caters to adopting families. Since every adopting family eventually ends up in Guangzhou they make an effort to be accommodating to the families.
Ruth thinks she can do everything by herself. Also, her adorable outfit is 12-18 month size. It's always hard to tell in pictures how tiny she really is, but all her clothes are normally 9-12 months which is why this one is hanging off her.
I thought this was maybe a little too fast but she wanted to go again!
I also felt like she was too small for this swing, but as you can see she doesn't seem to mind.
Trent kept a tight hand on her.
Ruthie really enjoyed this waterfall, also part of the play area for kids.
Seriously?! Isn't she the cutest?
She liked to stand where she could get sprayed by the waterfall.
My crazy face and Ruthie thwarting my idea of a family selfie in front of the waterfall.
Flowers in the play area.
She loves her Daddy.
A wider view of the play area. This is on the fourth floor of the hotel.
For dinner we joined two other families at this Dim Sum Restaurant.
There are lots of dishes served but small portions. It is a fun way of trying many different things. I'm finding that I really love eating with chopsticks. This restaurant is so authentic they don't serve any drinks other than the traditional Chinese tea. All of us Americans stopped for cans of coke on the way back to our hotel rooms.
These are fried chicken feet (and sweet, tiny, baby Penelope's foot at the top of the photo). Trent attempted them but couldn't do it. Our guide, John, told us that to eat them you just bite into it and work the bones around with your tongue and then spit them out. All we could think about is how disgusting our chickens feet look when it has rained and they're covered in muck and manure.
We made the mistake of giving Ruthie this yogurt while we waited. She didn't really want too much of the food because she was a little full and just wanted more yogurt.
Ruth loves these panda nesting dolls. They have provided her with tons of entertainment in the hotel room.
We don't have anything planned during the day tomorrow. We are hoping to join some other families tomorrow evening for the Pearl River tour. It's actually in the evening and will keep Ruthie up past her normal bedtime but we will make sure she gets a good nap in the afternoon. We just hope the rain will hold off for us.
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