journey10

Day 12 � Guangzhou, VISA day!

Today is the big day. We have our appointment at the U.S. Consulate to apply for Grace�s visa. We again visit the breakfast buffet. Jude brings the video camera down with us to try and videotape the bedlam that so many babies produce. We hope that the video can convey what an amazing sight it is to have so many babies around!

We met Mrs. Liang at 10:00 for our 10:30 appointment. The walk to the consulate takes just a few minutes. Cameras are not allowed so we will unfortunately not get any pictures of this momentous occasion. We are able to pass by the long lines of Chinese nationals waiting for their visa appointments and are ushered right in.

We are taken straight into the interview room. I guess since we are a group of one we did not have to wait in the waiting room. Mrs. Liang takes the money to pay for the fees and also gives all our paperwork to one of the officials. We wait for approximately 30 minutes and then just I go up to the interview table. They ask me �Is this the same baby you were referred?� �Is she healthy?� and �Has anything changed from your pre-approval status?� My answers to those questions were Yes, Yes and Yes (Jude had changed employers and we had included a new employer letter in our packet of papers). My answers seemed to satisfy the consulate employee so Jude and Grace were called up. Jude and I were asked to raise our right hands and swear that we would always take care of Grace and get her immunized once we got home. It sounds easy, but Jude had Grace in one hand and needed to raise his right hand, which currently had a Cheerio in it. So�Jude put the Cheerio in his mouth (I�m still not quite sure he didn�t just put it in his pocket), raised his right hand and said he would. Now, not only was Grace our daughter, but the U.S. said she could come home with us to the U.S.!!! We�ll get her actual visa tomorrow.

On the way back to the hotel from the consulate we stop and buy more diapers (seems like we�re always buying diapers). We return to our room, give Grace lunch and Jude and Grace take a nap. I head back out to shop once more. I guess I kept hoping that I would be left to shop peacefully on my own. It wasn�t to be, of course, but I did manage to pick up a few items for the folks back home (chopsticks and silk purses) and a couple of items for Grace (reversible silk jacket and squeaky shoes). I also make my way to the book store in the White Swan and buy a couple of Asian folk tales written in English and a set of �ABC� books with items show with their corresponding English, Pinyin, Ideogram and picture
I�m still feeling horrible. Jude and Grace had managed to find me some Tylenol cold pills in the hotel drugstore earlier and they�ve helped, but I now have a constant headache and my throat is so sore I wake up in the middle of the night often because it hurts to swallow. It even hurts to eat!

After Grace and Jude wake up from their nap, we decide to find a department store that Jude had found on one of his earlier explorations. We put Grace in the stroller and walk along the Pearl River to a very confusing intersection. We also try to stay in the shade since it is so hot and humid. After crossing some very scary streets we find the area that Jude remembers, but can�t find the department store. What we do find is stall after stall of vendors selling cell phones and pagers! It was truly amazing.

We stop at the McDonald�s that is in this area and share Chicken McNuggets, fries and a milkshake. That milkshake sure feels good on my sore throat! On the walk home we pass by a tennis club, which seemed to be very out of place.

We eat lightly for dinner again, just some pork buns from the delishop, pack up our stuff for our departure tomorrow and off to bed. Our last night in China!