Consulate Appointment and Shamian Island

Yesterday morning, we were up at the crack of dawn to get everyone dressed and out the door for our appointment with the US Consulate.  There are no cameras allowed in the consulate, so we have no pictures from that.  Benjamin picked the time we were standing in line to decide that he really wanted to walk everywhere we went.  If he has someone holding both hands, he can actually walk pretty quickly.  If he wasn't so short, it would be great, but since he's not even 30 inches tall, whoever is holding him is almost doubled over while he walks.  Makes for an interesting walk down a crowded hallway. 

The Consulate has a small play area, so Benjamin, Christopher, and Grace got to play while the adults all got the paperwork sorted out.  All in all, the Consulate took about an hour.  Benjamin's passport with a US visa will be available Thursday afternoon, and then he's free to head to the US!!!!

We left the Consulate, and went to Shamian Island.  Our guide dropped us off there, and told us how to get to the subway station to get home.  It was nice having the afternoon to ourselves, to walk around at our own pace and just relax a bit.  The guides are wonderful, but a lot of the time, they seem to be running through things to just show us the highlights, and I always feel like we're slowing them down when we stop to take pictures, look at something for a while, or let the kids run around.

Shamian Island used to be French / British protectorate, and the architecture looks very much like New Orleans.  The humidity feels that way too!  It's very pedestrian friendly, which was a nice change of pace.  Christopher loved being able to run at his own pace, rather than having to hold hands with one of us all the time.  Benjamin got to get out and do some walking too. 

We stopped at Lucy's for lunch, which a lot of other adoptive families rave about.  It serves a lot of American style food.  It was OK, but we've really liked the Chinese food (and prices.....)  I can see why people love it though, if you're missing the food from home.  We also got to do some shopping on the island as well, and Mom got to buy some more material.  We also managed to find the last of the presents we haven't found yet (Squeaky shoes for Savannah - payback for Christopher's train whistle :)  )

We came back to the hotel on the subway, and again, it was really simple.  It was a bit busier than the other day, as we were coming home around 3 in the afternoon.  We just put Brian in charge of clearing a path, and the rest of us followed him.

We decided to go to the same restaurant again for supper, as everyone really liked it, and it's air conditioned.  Dinner was delicious, and we finished supper early enough to get the kids home to bed at a reasonable hour.  Dad and I made one last trip to Trust Mart to get water and snacks for Hong Kong, and to try and find a stroller for Benjamin.  The employees on the bottom floor kept telling us they had them upstairs, and the folks upstairs kept telling us they didn't sell them.  An exercise in futility.  We also tried looking at the Friendship Store, but they only sell the high end American and European ones.  I'll be darned if I'm going to pay 4800RMB (about $800) for a stroller!

Today, we're finishing up packing, and getting some pictures of the kids around the hotel.  Brian and Dad are off on a mission to buy a stroller (hotel concierge told them where to find a baby shop), and I'm refereeing the mayhem here.  For 2 kids that don't speak the same language, they've already figured out how to play pretty well.  Right now, Christopher is teaching Benjamin to Hi-ya things.  The words may be wrong, but the tone of voice is exactly the same.

We leave for Hong Kong this afternoon.  It's bittersweet to think that these are Benjamin's last few hours in his home country.  I can't help but wonder if his birth mother has any idea that her little boy is going to America, and how much he is loved. 

And, just because it's funny.....