Greetings from Guangzhou
Hello!
We arrived in Guangzhou yesterday. Everything is going well. We were just informed that the paperwork we were waiting on from the state of Illinois has arrived at the consulate, just in time! That's a big relief. We did a tour of the city this morning. Our first stop was at a Buddhist temple, where the babies were all blessed. We did a little shopping at a goverment store, and then went to a old traditional residence used by the ruling class, that is now a museum.
Tomorrow we start the US visa paperwork and get the babies looked over by a doctor. On Thursday our paperwork is filed, and on Friday we have our consulate appointment. All is going well and we are very happy to be at the next step in our journey.
I am sorry that I do not have pictures to post right now, I will try again later. It is hard to upload pictures to blogger, or to web based email from here. I get lots of web timeouts. I think time of day matters.
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to Tonggu and visit the area where Elena was found and raised. It was a 3 1/2 hour bus ride from Nanchang, over some fairly treacharous driving conditions. It was just 9 fathers that made the trip, as it was too long of a day for the babies.
The area around Tonggu is a national park, filled with bamboo forests, moutains, lakes, and rivers. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The orphanange director treated us to a lunch with his staff, and gave us a tour of the newly rebuilt orphanage. 5 babies are kept in a room with a nanny on duty 24 hours a day. Because of the remodeling, our babies were all in foster care. They do not want us to contact directly to the foster mothers.
After that, the director took us around Tonggu to all of the places where the babies were found so that we could take pictures and video. The sight of 9 American dads sporting cameras in local markets and streets brought a lot of laughter and curiousity from many of the locals. I'm very glad that we were able to make the trip, and I will try to post more pictures later.
Love,
Paul
We arrived in Guangzhou yesterday. Everything is going well. We were just informed that the paperwork we were waiting on from the state of Illinois has arrived at the consulate, just in time! That's a big relief. We did a tour of the city this morning. Our first stop was at a Buddhist temple, where the babies were all blessed. We did a little shopping at a goverment store, and then went to a old traditional residence used by the ruling class, that is now a museum.
Tomorrow we start the US visa paperwork and get the babies looked over by a doctor. On Thursday our paperwork is filed, and on Friday we have our consulate appointment. All is going well and we are very happy to be at the next step in our journey.
I am sorry that I do not have pictures to post right now, I will try again later. It is hard to upload pictures to blogger, or to web based email from here. I get lots of web timeouts. I think time of day matters.
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to Tonggu and visit the area where Elena was found and raised. It was a 3 1/2 hour bus ride from Nanchang, over some fairly treacharous driving conditions. It was just 9 fathers that made the trip, as it was too long of a day for the babies.
The area around Tonggu is a national park, filled with bamboo forests, moutains, lakes, and rivers. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The orphanange director treated us to a lunch with his staff, and gave us a tour of the newly rebuilt orphanage. 5 babies are kept in a room with a nanny on duty 24 hours a day. Because of the remodeling, our babies were all in foster care. They do not want us to contact directly to the foster mothers.
After that, the director took us around Tonggu to all of the places where the babies were found so that we could take pictures and video. The sight of 9 American dads sporting cameras in local markets and streets brought a lot of laughter and curiousity from many of the locals. I'm very glad that we were able to make the trip, and I will try to post more pictures later.
Love,
Paul
posted by Paul @ 1:24 AM
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