Update from the White Swan

Ok, we have had a couple days here now at the White Swan and Guangzhou and want to let you know how it is going. We really do like it here much better than the other places we have stayed because it is a little more accommodating to Americans and is a really nice hotel and area. Of course having a Starbucks just one block away helps too. A lot of the people here speak a little better English and are used to adoptive parents being here.

The hotel is very nice and has a great breakfast buffet that is included in our stay that has very close to American style food. The hotel is located on an "island" in Guangzhou and is separated from the normal city life. Is is kind of an oasis in the area. The streets around the hotel are like parks and people come here to enjoy the scenery and relax on the weekend. There are many small souvenir shops so we are having fun exploring and shopping.

We decided to buy a stroller to make things easier and found a nice one that we got pretty cheap. You can bargain with all the vendors here and they seem to enjoy it. We also got Makaila a nice little red dress to wear for the red couch photo and we got her some "squeaky" shoes too.

And food! Besides the nice breakfast buffet and Starbucks, there is a little restaurant a block from the hotel called Lucy's that serves "American" food. I got a Chicken Alfredo the first time there and it was very good. Lisa had a chicken sandwich and it was good also. We still miss being able to have things like salads though.

As far as the adoption process goes, Early our first day here, we walked a few blocks to the medical examination clinic for Makaila's checkup. We were hoping to get more information about her health but that was not to be. We were told she weighed 15.5 lbs and that everything was ok but did not get a copy of the report. From what we saw, they were not very thorough with the exam.

That afternoon, we met with our guide so that he could assist us in getting all the paperwork filled out and gathered that the U.S. consulate requires for Makaila's visa. It was a grueling process and we found out during it that one of the forms we had filled out and got notarized in the U.S. was "not the right form" (even though it was the one the agency sent us to fill out). Because of this, one of us will have to go to the consulate on Wednesday to do the form over and get it notarized there.

Then on Thursday afternoon, all 3 of us go to the consulate for Makaila's swearing in process. unfortunately, we can not even take a camera for this so we will have no photos for it. We will get her visa sometime Friday afternoon and then we leave for home Friday night! We CAN NOT Wait to get back to our stable environment.

The rest of the time is "free" time and we are just going to relax and explore the area during that time. We are planning on visiting the Guangzhou zoo on Tuesday though so we can see the Pandas there.

I have posted more pictures on the Picasaweb site and here is a special treat from our wait at the Nanchang airport which I think everyone will enjoy.

Love from Dennis, Lisa and Makaila!
Can't wait to see you all again.