Consulate appointment and more of Guangzhou

We spent yesterday afternoon exploring the area around our hotel on foot.  (Emily likes the stroller here).  Guangzhou has some beautiful little winding streets the greenery and flowers everywhere are so lovely. 

This morning was our US Consulate appointment.  We met our guide a little before 8 a.m. to head to the Consulate building.  There were very long lines outside for Chinese people applying for visas, but a much shorter line for adoptions.  We saw several of the families from our hotel there.  We went through security (you can't bring any phones, cameras, etc... into the Consulate building) - much like you'd see in a US courthouse or federal building - and then went up to the Adoptions floor.  There was a waiting area with IKEA children's furniture and a little plastic play house and some other toys.  The children all played together and it was wonderful to watch.  All were what China considers to be "special needs" children.  The Consulate people gave us some information which indicated that more than 80% of the visa activity here is for special needs adoptions.  In our little Consulate group, there were three boys with hearing loss, a little girl with Down's Syndrome, a beautiful little girl whose leg had been badly burned in an accident at her orphanage when she was a baby, another beautiful and tiny little girl with cleft lip/palate, and some older Chinese brothers and sisters (who had been adopted several years ago and who now were back with their parents who were adopting again).  It was beautiful to see all of the children playing together and to see all of the different ways that families can be built.  As the group of parents collectively took an oath, Emily ran in front of the crowd screaming with glee.  She's a funny little girl.  Justin refers to her as the "little white whale on the go" from the "Baby Beluga" song by Raffi (some of you may remember it from when your children were littler).  It's a good description of Emily because of her white hair and the fact that she is ALWAYS on the go (and a little whale-like (in a good way) compared to some of the other tiny children).  We shared stories with other parents while we waited for paperwork.  The group of families we were with came from all across the US, most have other adopted and/or biological children, some have adopted from China before, and most are just "regular"-seeming people who are learning the ropes with their new children.   Although a little chaotic, the Consulate appointment area was really a very joyful scene.  Lots of love in that one room!  The Consulate issues the visas for the children (or is supposed to) by tomorrow afternoon around 3-4 p.m.  Once we have that, we can come home.  (Home will be via van to Hong Kong tomorrow night and then our flight leaves early Wednesday morning from Hong Kong to Tokyo to Atlanta).  Emily will travel to the US on a Chinese passport with a US visa.  When she arrives at customs at the Atlanta airport and is "stamped" in by US immigration, she will immediately become a US citizen. 

Emily in the hotel lobby waiting to go to the Consulate:

 

Here we are outside the consulate before phones/cameras, etc... were confiscated:

 

A few pictures of general cuteness while we waited for various things this morning:

 A kiss for Mama before we got her dressed this morning:

 Sweet girl sharing her snacks (always need snacks to keep this one corralled!)

After the Consulate appointment, our guide took us to the newer part of downtown Guangzhou.  Beautiful green spaces, interesting architecture, etc...  We saw the Canton Tower, a sports area built for when Guangzhou hosted the Asian Games, the Guangzhou Opera, the Guandong Museum, the Guangzhou Library, and bridges over the Pearl River.  Justin noted that if not for the signs in Chinese, you might think you were in New York or San Francisco or some other big, modern American city.