Our last picture before we headed out the door
We were scheduled to meet our guide Maggie in the hotel lobby at 1:45pm and had to be at the Civil Affairs office by 2:30pm. We were early getting downstairs (we are never early for anything since having kids) and Maggie was already here. I was relieved because I wanted to make sure we were to the Civil Affairs office before Hadley so she wouldn't be waiting on us. We rode in the van for about 20 minutes through the usual crazy traffic to get to the office. We pulled into the parking lot of a random unmarked 5 story building and headed in. We rode to the elevator to the fifth floor and got off.
We were amused with the sign and illustrations in the elevator.
The hallway was dark, dirty, and had many unmarked, closed doors. There was no one else on the floor and nothing appeared to be opened. It was very odd.
Had our guide not been leading us I would have assumed we were in the wrong place. This is at 2:00pm on Monday. Where is everyone?
We walked down the long, dark, stale smelling hallway (you can smoke inside in China and everyone smokes even in the hotel elevator) to an unmarked door. Our guide knocked. I couldn't figure out who could possibly be in there. The door opened and there was one woman in there sitting at a desk with a computer. There were a few couches and some random old filing cabinets. It was not at all official and was nothing at all what we expected and it was cold. There was no heat in the building.
Non-official looking Civil Affairs office
We sat down and anxiously waited. It was only 2 and she wasn't due to arrive until 2:30. I passed the time by watching the traffic outside in the intersection. I have a few photos but it really doesn't do it justice to show you how crazy it is.
Ten or fifteen minutes later there was a knock at the door and Aaron and I jumped up with our cameras in hand. It was two other caucasian couples. These were the first white people we had seen since Beijing on Saturday morning. One couple was from Michigan and adopting a little boy who is 22 months old named Corbin and the other couple was from Finland and adopting a 3 year old girl. We didn't talk to them much because they were on the other side of the room so we didn't get their whole story. We were all so excited to see each other and quickly shared stories about the trouble we had all had navigating the city and trying to find food. Everyone talked and laughed for a few minutes and then it got very quiet as we all realized what was about to happen. The kids were running a little late so we were all on the edge of our seats. The couple next to us from Michigan were very nervous and trying to calm each other (it is their first child). We heard someone in the hall and everyone jumped to their feet in anticipation. The door open and it was several older Chinese couples. They were in the wrong room! I have no idea what they were looking for, there appeared to be nothing else going on anywhere around this room. We all sat down, disappointed, exhaling our breath we had been holding. Several more minutes passed and the door opened again. We all jumped up and then sat back down. Another American couple entered followed by two Chinese woman and the most adorable little girl. She appeared to be about 3 years old. For a moment Aaron and I looked at each other and did a double take to make sure it wasn't Hadley. I knew she would be older and bigger than her pictures but no way was she that big. Plus, this little girl had longer hair cut into a cute bob haircut. These people all sat down across the room and the American woman was clearly crying. We put it all together after a few minutes and figured out this was their little girl. The child was standing between the two women who brought her there and was hesitant to go to her new parents. This poor mother was dying to get her hands on her daughter and they were busy asking questions and doing paperwork. When the nanny and orphanage director finally pushed the little girl in their direction, the child hesitated and tried to back up. She didn't want to go to them and she started crying. Well at this point the lady from Finland and I both lost it and were in tears. It made the situation so real and my heart went out to that little girl. She was so scared and confused and didn't know who these people were even though they knew and loved her already. It is hard to watch with a child who is old enough to realize what is going on. After a few minutes the new parents bribed her with a toy or some snacks and all was well. We all pulled ourselves together and were again waiting. Another knock at the door and in they came. Hadley was the first one in and I recognized her immediately.
First time we saw our sweet Hadley.
I was worried she may look older and different and not like the pictures we have been staring at for months. She was being carried by a woman and Aaron and I approached them and smiled at her. She smiled back at us and I reached out for her and grabbed her. She was fine with it and smiled at all of us.
We sat down on the couch and she laid her head on my chest. She cried a few times a little but was overall doing great. The other little girl who had come in first started crying at this point because her nanny and the orphanage director left and she was alone with her new parents. When she started crying Hadley started to get upset and cry. Fortunately these people took a hint and walked their screaming child out into the hall. The other children who came in with Hadley did great. They all cried and hesitated a little but were quickly distracted with snacks and toys. We did some paperwork and played for a few minutes and were done. This began the 24 hour harmonious period which is like a test drive with your new child. If you don't like how things go you can refuse to finalize the adoption. I can't imagine this happens very often.
We headed out of the building and went next door to a grocery store. We needed to get Hadley some of the formula that she was used to. I wanted to give her that at first to avoid any additional unnecessary changes for her. As we walked through the store the stares and pointing we have heard about began. Older people were shocked as they saw Aaron and I and then realized the baby I was carrying was Chinese. I don't know if they do not approve of international adoption or just don't know about it and don't understand. I imagine some of them are trying to figure out how Aaron and I who are obviously caucasian had a Chinese baby. People will get very close and point and stare and then call their significant other over to point out our obviously Chinese baby. I could see how this would make some people uncomfortable but we knew this reaction was a possibility so we are kind of amused by it. I wish I could make a quick comeback or clever joke in Chinese when people start pointing at us.
Condoms are readily accessible everywhere. This is in the grocery store checkout line next to the gum. We were curious about the different types: together or jeans. Which would you choose?
We got our formula and headed out. We got back in the van and thought we were headed back to our hotel but the driver pulled over and stopped. We were told to get out. Our guide had told us earlier that we needed to have a family picture taken for our paperwork. I would assume they would just snap a quick picture at the Civil Affairs office with a digital camera, but that was not the case. We were ushered out of the van and down a long, narrow street with all sorts of venders selling their wares. There was a random assortment of housewares, lots of food, nuts, meat on a stick, fruits and veggies, etc.
Those bags are all full of nuts
We walked a few blocks and came to a small photography studio.
As we entered Aaron was trailing behind taking pictures and a woman chased him down, yelling something. Aaron obviously had no idea what she was saying so our guide who was already inside walked back out to translate. The woman wanted Aaron to teach her son English. Sorry lady, we don't live here and we do not speak Chinese. We can be of no help to you. We all had a good laugh about this and walked inside. We were instructed to take our shoes off and led to a tiny studio that was set up. We sat on some stools, holding Hadley and had our picture taken. She was smiling and laughing at the photographer. She is a real ham and giggles and smiles at everyone we pass on the street. We can't figure out what she is laughing about but it is very cute.
Once we had a pictures in hand we were on the way back to the hotel.
No carseats in China. This is how we ride. Makes me very nervous. This should make our 8 hour+ trip in the van tomorrow very interesting. Dreading that.
We got settled in our room and Aaron had to fill out a bunch of paperwork. He admitted after the fact that he now knows why I am in charge of filling out all the paperwork. To give him credit, this was all in Chinese and he and our guide were going back and forth trying to figure out what he was supposed to write. The majority of my paperwork has been in English. I played with Hadley a bit and fed her a bottle. She whimpered on and off for a while when she looked around and realized it was only us in the room. She let me hold her and console her so I was happy with that. She was happy to play with Aaron but wasn't too sure about him holding her yet. We didn't push it and Aaron headed out to pick up a Pizza Hut pizza while I got Hadley changed and settled in for the night. On the elevator ride back from Pizza Hut in our hotel there was a Chinese family with a teenage daughter. When she saw Aaron and confirmed he was an American through a confusing exchange of words she was so excited. She pulled out her phone and did a mini-photo shoot with Aaron. They did some selfies together and she was posing and working the camera. What I wouldn't give to have those photos!
This girl had a very long and hard day and passed out on me!
It was another long night for me that night. I took a melatonin before bed and fell asleep early around 9:30 unfortunately I woke up around 1:30 and was awake for several hours. I finally started dozing off again and Hadley started to stir for the first time all night. She popped her head up in her crib and looked at me and smiled! I put her in bed with us and we dozed for another hour or so before waking up to get ready to head to the Civil Affairs office to finalize the Chinese side of the paperwork. Our harmonious period had ended and we knew hands down she was a keeper (as if there was ever any doubt)!
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