Thursday, December 3, 2009

Especially For Your Cursing Convenience



Before I start this evening I thought I would show you a little bit
of what is normally going on in my room as I post each night. Kinda pathetic huh????



For our last full day in Guangzhou our guide took us to the silk market and then on to the electronics market. I will have to say that I was not very impressed with the silk market. I was hoping to see some things made out of silk but instead all I saw was...um...silk. As my sewing machine broke about 6 years ago there was really nothing I needed a bunch of silk for. Pretty though :)



The electronics area was not very exciting to me either but Jay was like a kid in a candy store! He could walk around there and look at all of the cameras, ipods, phones, GPS units, mini tv's, and video game consoles all day long. Since I was still trying to make him feel better about yesterday's pedicure incident I played along :) The family we are with bought tons of stuff but we only came home with a little laser beam thingy. I think Catherine likes it (check out the VIDEO).





After the markets we had a little bit of time so we grabbed a cup of coffee at the hotel. Catherine was being super cute but, as always, as soon as she saw me break out the camera she refused to show her face. I have never seen a child who hates having their picture taken so much. It is not so much that she is shy... she just hates looking at the camera. This is the view that I got when I called her name to look up for the picture (can she crawl further into the safety of Daddy's lap?????)...



We finished our coffee, changed our clothes, and headed to the US Consulate for our Swearing Ceremony. I personally believe that during this process there are much better times for ceremonial swearing but they make us save it all up for this moment :) Actually, it is when we got to the Consulate and swear that everything we wrote on Catherine's immigration forms is the truth. We have actually had to do this with all 4 our kids since none of them were born in the US (even though Jack and Annie were US citizens). I am NOT HAPPY with the consulate and the way that they have handled our case but I managed to maintain my cool and go with the flow (Jay was relieved!). It took much longer than necessary because each family was called up individually to sign their own immigration form. But, the families were called up by a Chinese employee of the consulate announcing the child's Chinese name over a loud speaker that reminded me of the one at a bad drive through window. None of us could understand so either no one went up to the window or like 4 families went because they each thought their name was called. It was chaos. Luckily Catherine's Chinese name is easily recognizable and we only had to fight off one family who mistakenly got to our window first :)

On the way into the Consulate (best shot we could get of her... NOT of me!)


Leaving the Consulate as a US visa holder (well, as soon as we can pick up her visa tomorrow...)


Sporting her very special red, white, and blue dress made especially for her by Sallee


We ate our last dinner in Guangzhou at the only place we ever eat dinner in Guangzhou (hey, your favorite is your favorite for a reason!). We went all out with a whole steamed sea bass with spicy red chilis, fantastic Malaysian curry, chicken satay, grilled eggplant covered in garlic, and some Singapore-style fried rice with seafood (C's fave). YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY! The worst part of leaving China is that I grieve for all this fantastic food (and for the people who prepare and clean it up for me... wink!). It is going to be a rude awakening on Monday morning when all 4 kids expect ME to prepare breakfast... oh, perish the thought!





Tomorrow we get Catherine's visa and then we train it to Hong Kong for the night before our flight on Saturday morning. We will be back home at about 3pm on Saturday afternoon... getting closer :)

5 comments:

  1. Catherine looks fabulous in red, white and blue, and the smile on her face tells a big story! SHe just looks so much happier and relaxed, it is just hard to imagine how she has transformed in such a short time. What a journey, and it has just begun. Hoping you have a great train ride to HK and a blissfully uneventful flight home. And yes....they do expect breakfast no matter your jet lag....and lunch, and dinner, and snacks and dessert, and and and :-)

    sue

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations. I love the red, white, and blue dress. Very patriotic and cute!

    Safe travels as you come home. I know you are ready to be back in the States with your other children. It would be nice to bring the conveniences of travel home with you :o)

    By the way, what restaurant did you eat?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love that dress! All the photos are great...sleeping is too much...and the curling up in daddy's lap----too cute!!!

    Have a safe trip back home or should I say back to reality!

    ---off to watch that video---

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Jen and Jay, I just got caught up on your journey. It looks like you're having a great time. Thanks for your update on my DD. We have good news to share. Have a safe trip back home!

    Hugs, Pamela

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my goodness Jen, I didn't know until today that you had videos....I watched everyone...a couple of times :-). I am so ready for you to come home....so much has happened and you're not here for me to tell....I MISS YOU!!!!!!!

    Kim

    ReplyDelete

 

Current Time in China

Current Weather In...





Timeline

04/09/09 Started Paperchasing
04/25/09 Changed Agencies
04/26/09 We Got Our Referral!
04/26/09 LOI (Letter of Intent)
05/05/09 Homestudy Approved
05/13/09 Filed I800A with USCIS
05/13/09 PA (Pre-Approval)
06/05/09 USCIS Fingerprinting
06/10/09 I800A Approval
06/16/09 Dossier is Complete
06/19/09 DTC (Dossier to China)
06/30/09 LID (Log In Date)
08/28/09 LOA (Acceptance)
09/11/09 I-800 Approval
10/22/09 Article 5
11/04/09 TA (Travel Approval)
11/19/09 Leave for China
11/23/09 Gotcha Day
12/02/09 CA (Consulate Appointment)
12/05/09 Home!

Blog Archive

Blog Design By


Followers