Few Final Notes from Hong Kong….

My final impression…this is a very, very clean city with a lot of residual English influence. I would not hesitate to travel here as a tourist who didn’t know the language. Hong Kong is probably easier to navigate not knowing the language than Paris is…by far. There are a whole lot of white folk here too. (Oh, and Dad you were right about the EVA captain being an Aussie. I like to think he was sober, however).

View from our hotel room

Another view from our hotel room.

We went to the harbor to watch the touristic laser show last night. Here are a few pics:

You know how I lurves my camera….

In a few hours we leave for Chongqing. I’ll update when we get settled…if I can. If not, think of us if you’re awake at 12:30am eastern on Tuesday morning. That’s when Sophie will be put into our arms. Poor little peanut. She has no idea her world is about to be turned on its ear once more. It’s the best thing for her, but it will take her a little while to figure that out, I’m sure. She turned nine months today!

 

Hong Kong Day 2

Today we went on a pre-arranged tour of Hong Kong. We first visited Stanley Market, a small area filled with shops. Here we got something that has been on my shopping list for Sophie — a chop. It’s a stamp with her name written in Chinese characters. It’s very beautiful, stone and topped with a dragon. It’s something she can keep forever. We also got some gifts for some folks at home, which I won’t detail since they’re probably reading this.

Stanley Market

 

James at the Stanley Market

 

Sign that amused me in the bathroom…because I’m easily amused.

Then we headed to the Aberdeen Fisherman’s Village and had a little boat ride. This is the area where the fishermen live and work. Our guide, Matthew, says they’re a dying breed, since the older ones are retiring and the younger generation doesn’t want to pick up the net, so to speak. We paid a little money for a boat ride, but it was weird since this is sort of a “neighborhood” we were in. It was kind of like taking a busload of tourists to the suburbs to see how the soccer moms live and have them take pictures of the mini vans. Anyway, it was interesting and also poor, very poor, but our guide seemed so proud to show us everything, proud and happy of his way of life and I’m sure they make quite a bit of money from these tours. So it was strange, (for me, at least), but no harm no foul.

Floating restaurant in the Aberdeen Harbor

 

House boats in Aberdeen Harbor

Then it was off to the Aberdeen Jewelry factory, where they make beautiful rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings by hand. Here we bought the second thing on our shopping list (it’s a very short list, we’re almost done), a very pretty three drop pink pearl pendant for Sophie. We’ll keep it for her until she’s 18 or 21. Her father picked it out. He has excellent taste.

After that we headed to Victoria’s Peak, one of the highest places in Hong Kong. You can see for yourself what I mean about all the buildings…..

 

Apparently square footage is at a premium here. It’s very, very expensive to live in Hong Kong. In one apartment building you have about 1,000 families. That’s families, not individuals. It is not uncommon for families of five or more to live in a 400 or 500 square foot area. (yeah, that’s right. I didn’t mistype) You will often see people hanging their clothes out the windows on bamboo rods to dry because they don’t have room for a washer/dryer. Gas is about 7.50 a gallon here. Between that and other car-related costs, you pay about 1500 a month just to own an automobile.

We just came back from a dim sum lunch with the entire travel group. Very nice group of people. Now we’re in the hotel room taking a little rest. Later we’re planning to walk up to the Peninsula Hotel and have high tea. It’s something to do, something to keep us from falling asleep at 4pm, which is what we all want to do. We need to get adjusted to the time because of Sophie. She, of course, is adjusted to this time.

Tomorrow we leave for Chongqing, but not until the afternoon. The internet connection is very spotty here in the hotel. It cuts in and out. We’ll see what it’s like in Chongqing. I’ll try and update once we get to the hotel. If I don’t, it’s because of technical problems.

Found out that until the early 1990s, Chongqing was indeed a part of Sichuan Province. We can expect very spicy food in Chongqing as a result. I also found out that those from Sichuan Province (that would Sophie, most likely) tend to be tall. That would jive with Sophie’s measurements. She’s very long by the SWI’s measure. We’ll find out if they’re accurate the day after tomorrow!

I think it’s finally hitting James that he’s going to be a daddy, like forever and for real. He’s a bit more nervous than I am right now. I’m strangely relaxed and calm. I have been ever since we got on the plane. Before we left I was stressing very badly (because of bureaucracy and paperwork, packing and making sure the house and our pets were taken care of…) Once I got on the plane…peace. Maybe I’m just so ignorant about parenthood I don’t know any better. (I’m going to eat those words about being calm, I just know it. I’ll be a nervous wreck come Tuesday.)

 

Ni Hao from Hong Kong!

We’re here! We got in at about 10am local time after a very, very long journey (well over 24 hours). The flight between San Francisco and Taipei was not bad at all. Premium economy? Definitely the way to go on a long journey unless you want to pay 7k a ticket for business. Pretty much as soon as we were airborne most of us were asleep. We all slept about 8 hours, which meant we weren’t even aware for most of the trip. Can’t beat that. We got into Taipei actually feeling refreshed.

My mom, James and James’ mom in the Taipei airport.

Now that we’ve got a good meal in us (and a good beer, Tsing Tao!), we’re all feeling the jet lag. It’s 5pm and I’m ready to crash. We took it easy today, just walked around the local area, found a restaurant and had lunch. That’s pretty much it.

Victoria Bay, just a block away from our hotel. It’s very hazy here in the spring, so you can’t really see them, but the skyline is just packed with buildings. There are huge sky scrapers everywhere you look. It’s an enormous city that reminds me a lot of Europe in many ways. It’s strange, it’s not like being in China at all really. I suspect mainland China will leave me with a different impression, however.

Joanna and James in Hong Kong.

Sorry, y’all the good pictures won’t come until after Sophie Fu Duo Day. That would be Tuesday.

I’m going to sleep now.

 

Travel is Booked. CA Appointment is Confirmed.

We leave next Thursday! Our itinerary looks like this Our Home Town –> San Francisco –> Taipei —> Hong Kong.

It’s a long trip and will be interesting with Sophie Fu Duo on the return, that’s for sure. Yikes!

We’ve got premium economy on the longest legs of the trip. This means I get to maintain my sanity (such that it is). I think I have a touch of claustrophobia.

The normal pitch, (that’s the distance between your seat and the seat in front of you, and it’s the thing that really gets me), on a 747 is 31 inches. The pitch in premium economy is 38 inches. Those seven little inches mean a lot. There are other perks too, like a plug in for my lap top! Whee! I’ll be able to use that going over, definitely not on the way back. There’s also foot and leg rests and your personal little TV screen loaded with movies.

On a 14 hour flight, these are good things.

I’m not going to think about the return trip and the hell it might be. Lalalalalala!! I can’t hear anything!! I’m in denial.

~*~

Nous partons jeudi prochain ! Notre itineraire ressemble a cette : “notre ville” –> San Francisco –> Taipeh –> Hong Kong.

C’est un long voyage et sera interessant avec Sophie Fu Duo sur le retour.

 

And the wait continues

No confirmation of consulate appointment again today. Hopefully tomorrow. This means we can’t book our airline tickets yet and we’re supposed to leave next week!

Now, for the French readers…

Aucune confirmation de rendez-vous de consulat encore aujourd’hui. Si tout va bien demain. Ceci signifie que nous ne pouvons pas reserver nos billets d’avion pourtant et nous sommes censes laisser la semaine prochaine !

J’essayerai de mettre a jour parfois en francais egalement. Veuillez excuser toutes les erreurs !

~ Joanna

 

 

Official “Unofficial” Consulate Appointment

It appears our consulate appointment will be on April 4th! That’s the day when Sophie Fu Duo officially becomes our daughter all legal-like. Our agency anticipates that we will need to arrive in Hong Kong March 24th and depart April 6th.

We have the consulate appointment confirmed orally by the CCAA. Must wait until Monday to have it confirmed in writing. They are recommending we wait until then to buy our tickets, but I’m in contact with two travel agents and doing my own “agenting” work today to secure and reserve (just reserve) the best option. We’ll buy them when we have written confirmation of the CA.

I’m shaking I’m so excited! (Or maybe I just had one too many cups o’ java)

ETA: I was not able to “beat the travel agent”. So we do have a travel itinerary reserved through a travel agent that we like. Once we have that official word on Monday, we can go ahead and book.

This is finally happening! And, oy, it’s going to be a looooong trip both there and back. But I can’t wait! Travel gods, kick me around! I can take it as long as you give us our sweet chubby cheeks.

 

Various

Baby gnosh….

I actually bought baby food yesterday. How trippy. I bought organic baby food (I wonder how organic it really is, but they got me with the labeling. I admit it), stage one to take with us to China. I bought just a few kinds. Since we don’t know if she’s eating solid food yet and, if so, we don’t know what kinds of solid food, I’m playing it safe and starting her out with stage one.

Babies need to build muscles to chew and swallow without choking and I know the nipples in the SWIs are cut with very big holes. The formula just slides down their throats without them having to work for it very hard. Since I don’t know how much sucking she’s done, and therefore building the muscles in her mouth and throat. I figure, better to go slow. Out of everything baby at this point, it’s the introduction of solid food that freaks me out the most.

Once she’s home I’m hoping to be super mom and buy organic foods and make our own baby food. We’ll see how long that resolution lasts once we’re back.

Travel…. 

There are things happening in my family right now that are…well, not good. I feel horrible to be leaving for China while this is going on. Isn’t it strange how sometimes there are periods of time when everything monumental happens all at once? Like little portals of change tucked into our lives. Sometimes the change is happy, sometimes sad. Right now it’s a mixture of the two for me. I’m hopeful and worried on two different fronts right now.

I’ve been researching airline tickets to China. It’s a little early because we don’t have travel dates yet, but I want to be ready to play Beat The Travel Agent when the time comes. There is a travel agent who will quote us a price, but I’m confident I can beat it. As it stands right now (definitely subject to change) our best bet is to fly to Seattle and take Eva Airways to Hong Kong. In this scenario we would come to Seattle a day ahead and fly premium economy to Hong Kong (that’s something between economy and business class). Would be cool since I have friends in Seattle.

But all this is just for info. We have to wait for the travel dates. I just want to be as well informed about our options as possible when the times comes to book.

Shopping Illness…

Yesterday I bought a bear that makes womb sounds for Sophie Fu Duo’s  crib (yes, go ahead and make fun of me. James did. *g*) I also bought an air purifier for her room. I figure that she won’t be able to sleep in the quiet, quiet, quiet. Not after being used to the SWI. And we live in the country so this is a quiet like you’re never heard before. So I’m trying to find things to mask sounds in the house while also creating a soothing auditory environment. James and I both have trouble sleeping without an air purifier on.

We’re going to try to move her straight to her crib when we get home. Wish us luck.

Now, work. I have so much work to do before we leave! I have a big long list.

 

More about Chongqing

I just found these on You Tube. They show a helicopter view of the skyline. Wow, it’s a huge city. Unbelievable.

This is Chongqing by day:

Chongqing by night (actually extremely pretty):

You can definitely watch them without the accompanying music.

 

Chongqing and other things

1. Some families are getting updates on their babies. We don’t have one yet. I hope we get one soon, but I know we might not get any at all.
2. All paperwork from the Paperchase Part Deux: Return of the Paperchase is now airborne. We’re just waiting for the travel approval now.
3. I have taught myself how to say “Baby, don’t cry,” “Baby, don’t be afraid,” “Mommy and daddy love you” (although it’s not exactly these words, it’s the equivalent) “Mommy and daddy are here” and couple of other simple phrases in Mandarin.

The word for baby in Mandarin is Bow Bow (phonetically). I think this is unbelievably adorable.

Sophie is here… (you can make fun of my arrow, if you want)

At this exact moment it is Saturday, 6:26 AM. Sophie is probably either just awake or will wake up soon.

A little about Chongqing:

• Chongqing was discovered about 3,000 years ago
• Chongqing is the fastest-growing urban center on the planet. Its population is already bigger than that of Peru or Iraq.
• Known as a “Mountain City”, Chongqing was constructed on the mountain slopes and along the riversides.
• The main ethic groups in Chongqing are: Han, Tibetan & Miao
• Chongqing is famous for its hot Sichuan cuisine and world-famous hotpot dishes.

Our trip will be about 15 days:

• We’ll go to Hong Kong for a couple days to tour and get used to the time difference (yeah, right).
• Then off to Chongqing (where we’ll get Sophie Fu Duo nearly immediately!! Yaaaaaay Sophie Day!!).
• We’ll stay in Chongqing for about a week.
• Then we’ll go to Guanzhou and stay there for about a week.

It is looking doubtful we’ll be able to visit her SWI. It’s been hard for me to find out a lot about this SWI (though what I have heard is positive). I believe that the SWI is a long drive from where we get the babies, so trips to the SWI are not possible. As hard as it would be to see her SWI, I would like to do so. It’s a part of her history and I will do all I can to find out as much as I can for her because I think she’ll value the information when she’s older.

 

A quick update

Okay we’re ready to go. Let’s GO ALREADY!!

Even as busy as I am, this month is killing me. It’s true (even though I wanted to smack people who told me this before we got the referral) that the pain of the wait disappears once you have her picture, name, ect. However this is a whole different kind of agony. I hope those TAs come fast! Even busy as I am, I’m still angsting. It helps to know that she’s getting good care in her SWI. The more I hear about this particular SWI, the better I feel. I think she’s in a really good one.

We’re getting stuff on our packing list and throwing it into a suitcase in the nursery. The red bags are for the gifts we’ll give to the SWI director, assistant director and nannies.

Paperwork is being notarized today. Visa applications and other paper-related goodies are being sent out tomorrow. In Belgium, my MIL is doing what she needs to do in order to come with us. This ship is getting ready to sail.

I went to my asthma and allergy doc this morning and am now armed with a multitude of prescription meds to ward off asthma and allergy related problems in China. My lung function is very good now, (thanks to her care), and she thinks I’ll be fine. Whew! I got the scripts for “just in case”.

Here’s a picture of my state-side immediate family giving a toast to Sophie. Her pic on the table.

From left to right… my mom, me, James, my dad & stepmother. My aunt was taking the pic. (WordPress always cuts off my pics. Sorry, stepmom! My dad doesn’t have it much better since he has a champagne glass stuffed up his nose.)