Let's cut to the chase--

OK Folks, I do have lots more pictures to post, (I haven't even sent you the Great Wall ones yet) and I will promise to post more sightseeing- fear not, but let's stay focused, shall we? Let's remember why we are here.

It is about 7:00 pm in Guangzhou ( we flew down here from Beijing this morning) and tomorrow I head over to the Civil Affairs Office at 3:30 pm (2;30 am Monday morning your time) to meet Susanna.

(THE NEXT PART MAY OR MAY OT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNG STUDENTS- teachers, you decide!)

I am excited, nervous, worried calm, you name it, but mostly, I just want to MEET HER! Veronica, our guide gave us a firm lecture about what to expect, and I was and am prepared for that. Susanna may be very, very frightened, angry, withdrawn, you name it After all, tomorrow morning she will be woken up , dressed, fed a big breakfast, and will then be put on a bus with her nanny and driven six hours to an office in a different city, where she will be brought into strange room and handed over to me. At the same time, there will be many other children in a similar situation. She will have been taken from her friends and nannies and everything that has been familiar to her for about a year. She will be placed in front of a stranger who looks /sounds/smells/nothing like she has ever seen before and put in a situation where she cannot communicate her needs. Who would be shut down for a few days?
Veronica was very helpful in explaining what we might expect and why it was normal. She also stressed this may not happen at all. She also talked to us a lot about the current situation in China in terms of children in orphanages, children who are and are not available for adoption, why this is, etc. Now please note- this is NOT how we spend our days! But as we get closer to the big day, I am sure she wants us prepared and to have a sense as to what might occur!I think most of us have already though t it through. After all- in some cases, we have been waiting for 2-3 years!

I will send pictures and video and let you know how it goes.

Guangzhou is breathtakingly beautiful. Reminds me of New Orleans. Reminds Nan of Viet Nam. Our group, which now almost 20FAMILIES, had a final meal together tonight, before many more younger people join it!

Today was sunny and in the mid 70's . Very green, very lush. Enough said. Beijing was also really beautiful in the Autumn, but as mentioned---BRRRRR!