Double Happiness: More Shopping and the Consulate Appointment

Today we took a taxi back to Shamian Island to do a little more shopping. We're been back and forth between our hotel and the island a few times now and using the taxi is pretty easy and only cost around 3 dollars. We managed to blow through the money we had exchanged in a couple of hours.

Before going back to our hotel we sneaked into the White Swan's play room. You need a hotel pass key to get in but there was someone in there so we just knocked and they let us in. We spent time in this room with Gabby and found that a few of the toys were still there. Lydia's favorite were the musical toys

At 2:30 we had out appointment at the American Consulate, this is when Lydia's visa paperwork is processed and we have to take an oath. The oath is part of the immigrant visa process and for adoptions the parents take it on behalf of the children. The oath basically says that all of the information provided by us is true and accurate. This time around was a little different from Gabby's adoption in that we had to go up to a window in the consulate and present our passports as a final check that we are the correct people and match the copies included with the submitted forms. It wasn't easy sitting in a big room with dozens of babies trying to pick out your child's name, especially when the first thing heard was a muffled 'Wa Wa Wa'... 'Wa Wa Wa'... turned out they were just testing the speakers and not calling for anyone but eventually they called Huai Xin Chun and we got the final 'okay' on our papers. A short time later everyone stood, repeated the oath and it was all over.

Tonight we also had the option of going on a Pearl River Dinner Cruise, and it was the perfect evening for the event. Our guide had already given us the heads up on the deal 'out of ten, the cruise would be a 10, the food around an 8' and that was a fairly accurate description. Lydia tried her best to eat all the noodles she could, and I tried my best not to end up wearing them. I pitied the people at the next table and Lydia was quite intent at staring at them with a face covered in noodles!

After dinner we went outside onto the third floor of the boat to view the scenery and enjoy the night. The whole thing lasted about 90 minutes and was just the right length to keep the little ones entertained before it was time to get back on the bus for our hotel.

Another busy day and Lydia was great through everything. As we get close to the end of our journey our thoughts turn to the long flight home - we're hoping that Lydia keeps up the great behaviour for the long day ahead.