Mon. 6/1/09
This morning, Molly took us to the Bank of China to exchange US dollars and traveler’s checks to Chinese yuan. The conversion rate is 6.8 yuan to 1 US dollar. We need the yuan for the orphanage fees today. The bank didn’t want to cash our traveler’s checks all at once, so Molly took us to the White Swan Hotel to see what their rules were for the day. The hotel exchanged all of them for us. We had a stack of yuan 4 inches high, which is a little tough to stuff inconspicuously into a money belt!!
At 2:00 pm, the 3 families in our group walked to the Medical Exam building to be scanned for elevated temperatures. We all brought bottles of cold water to drink before our temps were taken. Everyone was normal (temp wise) and we headed to the Provincial Office at the Government Center for Adoption. Surprise, we were all scanned for elevated temps again before we could enter the adoption room! Our group was the first to arrive, but the room was soon filled with 20+ families waiting for their children.
We waited impatiently knowing Sarah was in the next room. Our turn finally arrived and our passport and documents were reviewed . . . . . and then Sarah was walking towards us!! She has short hair and is wearing a cute pink and white sundress with pink sandals!! We opened her backpack so she could see the books, toys and food. She zeroed in on the goldfish crackers and they were gone in a flash. Molly just informed us that Sarah is potty trained. Wow, what a surprise!! We brought diapers with us. Guess we’ll be shopping for underwear tomorrow. Sarah is a very determined, strong willed little girl. Oh my gosh, that sounds just like Jenna!! We were told that Sarah was spoiled by her foster family. That should be interesting . . . . . .
I
The four of us left for our hotel about an hour later. Our group went back to Lucy’s for supper. This time we were a little more adventurous - stir fried rice and noodle dishes. Sarah likes to eat!! She can put away just as much food as Jenna. She likes to feed herself. She’s very self- sufficient. We took a short walk around the park and then headed back to the hotel. By this time everyone was tired and ready for bed. Sarah had her first meltdown at bedtime. Reality set in when we got into bed and started reading books. She started to cry for mama for the next 1 ½ hours. We knew she wanted her foster mom. She finally was so exhausted from crying that she fell asleep with BaBa (dad). She slept for 10 hours.
We are all anxious to see how things turn out tomorrow. We are exhausted and stressed out. The trip is wearing on all of us. Jenna is doing well. Plans for tomorrow include finalizing the adoption and doing some grocery shopping.
This morning, Molly took us to the Bank of China to exchange US dollars and traveler’s checks to Chinese yuan. The conversion rate is 6.8 yuan to 1 US dollar. We need the yuan for the orphanage fees today. The bank didn’t want to cash our traveler’s checks all at once, so Molly took us to the White Swan Hotel to see what their rules were for the day. The hotel exchanged all of them for us. We had a stack of yuan 4 inches high, which is a little tough to stuff inconspicuously into a money belt!!
At 2:00 pm, the 3 families in our group walked to the Medical Exam building to be scanned for elevated temperatures. We all brought bottles of cold water to drink before our temps were taken. Everyone was normal (temp wise) and we headed to the Provincial Office at the Government Center for Adoption. Surprise, we were all scanned for elevated temps again before we could enter the adoption room! Our group was the first to arrive, but the room was soon filled with 20+ families waiting for their children.
We waited impatiently knowing Sarah was in the next room. Our turn finally arrived and our passport and documents were reviewed . . . . . and then Sarah was walking towards us!! She has short hair and is wearing a cute pink and white sundress with pink sandals!! We opened her backpack so she could see the books, toys and food. She zeroed in on the goldfish crackers and they were gone in a flash. Molly just informed us that Sarah is potty trained. Wow, what a surprise!! We brought diapers with us. Guess we’ll be shopping for underwear tomorrow. Sarah is a very determined, strong willed little girl. Oh my gosh, that sounds just like Jenna!! We were told that Sarah was spoiled by her foster family. That should be interesting . . . . . .
I
The four of us left for our hotel about an hour later. Our group went back to Lucy’s for supper. This time we were a little more adventurous - stir fried rice and noodle dishes. Sarah likes to eat!! She can put away just as much food as Jenna. She likes to feed herself. She’s very self- sufficient. We took a short walk around the park and then headed back to the hotel. By this time everyone was tired and ready for bed. Sarah had her first meltdown at bedtime. Reality set in when we got into bed and started reading books. She started to cry for mama for the next 1 ½ hours. We knew she wanted her foster mom. She finally was so exhausted from crying that she fell asleep with BaBa (dad). She slept for 10 hours.
We are all anxious to see how things turn out tomorrow. We are exhausted and stressed out. The trip is wearing on all of us. Jenna is doing well. Plans for tomorrow include finalizing the adoption and doing some grocery shopping.
No comments:
Post a Comment