March 12, 2019- US Consulate Appointment

Tuesday, March 12 was our last and final official appointment for anything adoption related while in China.  We all boarded the bus and headed to the US Consulate in Guangzhou to finalize Bin’s visa application and paperwork.   We weren’t allowed to bring anything inside the building other than a clear plastic bag with drinks/snacks.  All backpacks had to be left on the bus and the cell phones were kept by security until we left when they were returned to us on the way out.  We had to go through metal detectors and wand checks just like you do at the airports.  Once in the consulate, we were led into a large waiting room and given numbers.  We recognized several other American families that we had seen at various points along our journey while in China.  Apparently we were all scheduled at the same time for convenience.  A nice man named Mike gathered all the families around and introduced himself as the American Vice Consul General (I think?).  He told us all that he knew we had been through a lot on our adoption journey and it was their goal to make the remaining tasks as easy as possible for all of us.  He also told us that he himself was also an adoptive parent and so he had been through the same process all of us had as well.  The families were interviewed by the office one at a time, our paperwork was reviewed and a few questions were asked here and there.  The children played with each other in a designated play area while waiting their turns, and parents traded stories about their children and adoption journeys.  We were in the office for about an hour and a half, with our actual interview taking about five minutes.  We were asked if we had had any problems or issues with the adoption and if there had been any unexpected health issues with Bin after we received him.  We told them that everything had gone pretty smoothly and that there were no problems or issues. We were informed that once we entered the United States and presented and Customs and Immigration with Bin and his passport once we reached Dallas, he would then become an official United States Citizen.  I asked if he would have duel Chinese/US Citizenship and we were told that China does not allow dual citizenship and so once he became a US citizen he would subsequently lose his Chinese citizenship at that point.  We were also told we would receive a sealed envelope to present at Immigration in Dallas and that it should remain sealed and we should not open it.  We were then congratulated and dismissed to leave and continue on our way.   

Our only allowed photo at the US Consulate

We were free for the rest of the day after that.  We came back to the hotel and hung out in the room for a while.  Later in the afternoon I took the kids to the hotel pool.  The water was 68 degrees which was too chilly for them to comfortably swim, although Abigail submerged herself for about 2 seconds on a dare from her dad and the promise of 10 Yuan (about $1.50). It  was highly entertaining, so money well spent.  Luckily there was also a really nice Jacuzzi hot tub by the pool as well, so that’s where we spent the most time.  Bin took a while to get in, but once in he loved it and didn’t want to get out.  

Hot tub party

Later that afternoon we took a walking excursion around the vicinity of the hotel. 

 Seriously Dad, enough with the photos already...

Our official outing for the day was a lovely river boat dinner cruise on the Pearl River. It was a nice large boat that held about 100 people.  We sat in a nice dining room and had a buffet with traditional Cantonese foods; it was really good.  After dinner we headed up to the top deck to enjoy the views as the boat made its way down stream through downtown Guangzhou.  Every few minutes we passed underneath a different bridge, each lit up with colorful lights.  The buildings and skyscrapers along the river were fitted with led lights that covered the entire buildings.  The buildings next to each combined to form large video screens where animated displays played out scenes before our eyes.  The most spectacular building, and the jewel of Guangzhou, was the enormous Canton Tower, the third highest tower in the world.  It had lights that changed colors every few seconds for our viewing pleasure.

 Corn. Its what's for dinner.  In the background, our guide Simon eludes the camera yet again. 

 Canton Tower. It's big ya'll. 

 This is one of the other families in our group; ex-Pats living in Thailand at the moment

The last part of the cruise was the entertainment portion. There was a juggler and a performer who could change his colorful masks in the blink of an eye.  Balloons were given to the kids.  Abigail and Bin had the time of their lives.  It was a great time, and a great way to celebrate the end of our official appointments and paperwork.  

I’ve already noticed how quickly our corrupt American ways (kidding, sort of) are rubbing off on him already in the short time we’ve had him.  Bin has inevitably discovered the iPhone while he has been with us, and has quickly become proficient with its operation.  He even memorized the pin number on my own phone to unlock it early on, which shocked me because I never showed him.  He is extremely observant and has an obvious knack for memorizing procedures and processes.  Luckily I thought to bring one of my old phones for him to play with.  I anticipate it will be a life and sanity saver on the 14 hour plane ride back home next week.    At first he wanted to color and work in his workbooks a lot, but since discovering the iPhone that would be all he does if given the choice.  We’ve tried to limit his time (and his sister’s) to an allotted block of time each day and then we put them away in a drawer and tell them to read or draw, or color for the rest of the time.  

He also loved eating fruit at breakfast at first, like watermelon and oranges, but since his sister only wants cereal and pastries he’s already tried to ditch the fruit in favor of those things.  I have managed to still get fruit down him sometimes at breakfast by setting it at the table, even if he says he doesn’t want it.  If Abigail eats it he’ll follow suit, and he still will reach for it on his own periodically if its there.  We introduced him to spaghetti through his sister, as well as cheese pizza.  His favorite dish is still noodles and boiled eggs, but he is starting to like the pizza and spaghetti more.  When we get back home to the states I see a lot of ramen in our future.