13 February -- Guangzhou -- Update
Yeah! We have Melissa's US visa in hand! We're all set to travel, and we'll be leaving China in just over 24 hours.
The processing at the Consulate went very smoothly. About 100 people, including parents, adoptive children, brothers and sisters, facilitators, and other family members boarded a bunch of buses at the White Swan and headed across town to the US Consulate. We then had an "interview" which consisted of a Consulate official confirming that the child and parents matched the paperwork they had. After a short speech by the head of the adoptions unit, all the parents swore that we were providing correct information, and we then received Melissa's visa paperwork!
We were a little concerned yesterday about Melissa's visa since the US consulate had a question about our address. But after a mad 45-minute dash across town (think of "dashing" across Guangzhou like "dashing" across Manhattan or LA), we raced up to the US Consulate just before lunch time to answer two quick questions, and our hassles were eliminated. Ironically, one of the problems was that one of the pieces of our Chinese paperwork spelled our last name "IIerin." In the font that was used, Suzanne and I didn't even spot the error.
Melissa continues to charm and delight us. She's become quite the daddy's girl. She loves eating yogurt and carrots, tolerates shopping, and is a big fan of Eighties' music (particularly Blondie and Squeeze). She's got a tooth coming in, but doesn't seem to be in any particular pain. She's so easy it's a complete joy (especially compared to some of the kids at the consulate today!).
Can't wait to see everyone in the States soon!
The processing at the Consulate went very smoothly. About 100 people, including parents, adoptive children, brothers and sisters, facilitators, and other family members boarded a bunch of buses at the White Swan and headed across town to the US Consulate. We then had an "interview" which consisted of a Consulate official confirming that the child and parents matched the paperwork they had. After a short speech by the head of the adoptions unit, all the parents swore that we were providing correct information, and we then received Melissa's visa paperwork!
We were a little concerned yesterday about Melissa's visa since the US consulate had a question about our address. But after a mad 45-minute dash across town (think of "dashing" across Guangzhou like "dashing" across Manhattan or LA), we raced up to the US Consulate just before lunch time to answer two quick questions, and our hassles were eliminated. Ironically, one of the problems was that one of the pieces of our Chinese paperwork spelled our last name "IIerin." In the font that was used, Suzanne and I didn't even spot the error.
Melissa continues to charm and delight us. She's become quite the daddy's girl. She loves eating yogurt and carrots, tolerates shopping, and is a big fan of Eighties' music (particularly Blondie and Squeeze). She's got a tooth coming in, but doesn't seem to be in any particular pain. She's so easy it's a complete joy (especially compared to some of the kids at the consulate today!).
Can't wait to see everyone in the States soon!
posted by Steve & Suzanne @ 4:39 AM
1 Comments:
At 5:43 PM,
Lily said…
Squeeze, eh? Be nice to Auntie Lily, and we'll bring her to meet the lead singer, who has a little boy her age. Maybe we can get a lullaby tape.
Hope all goes smoothly for the rest of the journey home.
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