Well, I'm almost finished packing and am ready to get on a plane bright and early tomorrow. I need to have my bags set out for the bell boy by 5 AM and be in the lobby by 5:30 AM. Ouch!! One of the other families in our group left on a train for Hong Kong already and the other two families leave just after 7 AM tomorrow morning.
We had a leisurely morning today. I started packing and we ran out and did a little more shopping. I opted not to give Xin Yi a nap today in the hopes of getting her to bed early tonight. It is 7:30 pm and she just fell asleep, but not without a lot of drama. She was just SO tired.
We met at 2:45 this afternoon to go to the U.S. Consulate. The oath only took about one minute, but there was a lot of waiting before and after and it took 20 or 30 minutes to get there from our hotel. So, the whole process ended up taking about 2 hours. I now have Xin Yi's passport with her U.S. visa and all the documents I need to get through immigration in Minneapolis. We have a 3 1/2 hour layover in Minneapolis, so we won't have to rush to get to our flight home.
As you can see in the pictures, I had our coordinator translate Xin Yi's finding note. I won't post details, but I was in tears it was so moving. We knew when we got her referral that there was a note containing her birth date, but it is a full letter with information on why she was abandoned and how her family felt about it. It is a priceless gift for our family and especially for Xin Yi as she gets older.
I also had our coordinator attempt to explain to Xin Yi what will happen tomorrow. I had her tell Xin Yi that we will be going on three different airplane rides and will ultimately reach home where daddy and her brothers will be waiting. The coordinator asked her who she wants to hug and she said mommy and daddy! I'm sure it will be a huge group hug as we have all missed each other so much. I also asked Elsie to explain that mommy doesn't speak mandarin and her daddy and brothers don't either. She explained that mommy with help her learn English. It was pretty funny when the guide asked her if mommy spoke mandarin and she said yes! I did learn to count to 10 in mandarin and I know a few simple phrases. I also have a book that I've used to say other simple words to her. I think she thinks I speak mandarin because of this and the fact that I usually can figure out what she is saying based on the situation and extra hand gestures by us both. I know the next few months will be hard for her as she will not be able to communicate at the level she is used to. I'm sure English will come quickly for her though as she has very strong verbal skills.
We had dinner at Lucy's again tonight with the Stinnettes and the Huangs. I hope that we will remain in contact with all three families. It will be so fun to see all the children growing up. This has been an amazing experience and I'm so grateful for the gift of Alana Xinyi and my time getting to know her here in China.
My next post will be from home with my family reunited!
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