China: Day 7

This day will go down in history as the biggest cluster I have ever been a part of. Ever. In the history of ever. Let me start from the beginning...

Last we heard, we were to meet in the hotel lobby at 7:50 am in order to get to the government office we needed to go to get Bella’s passport photo taken and her information entered into the system. So, I packed up all of our things the night before, carefully and painstakingly trying to ensure none of our suitcases would surpass China’s luggage weight limit. I set my alarm for 6:00 am (which was unnecessary, since I woke on my own at 5:00 am) and got myself ready before waking up Clay and Bella (who was out cold). We got ready and headed down for our last breakfast at the hotel buffet (more rice, more eggs...the usual).

We were ready to go by 7:50 am as planned. We had all our stuff and were camped out in the lobby. And then, our facilitator walked into the lobby looking confused. She asked if we had gotten a phone call, voicemail, and email from our agency the night before - nope. We hadn’t. Turns out, they had to cancel our plane tickets (we were scheduled to depart Hohhot at 10:40 am) because, due to a shut down in China’s system, we wouldn’t be able to get Bella’s passport stuff completed in time to make our flight. So, we wouldn’t be leaving as planned. Ugh!!!!! So, we lugged all our stuff back up to our room and waited to be told it was time to go to the government office to get the passport photos/paperwork done. While we waited, I took Bella down to the fitness area so we could practice walking and she could see herself in the mirrors all over the room. She loved it!

 

Making a new "friend" ;)

 

 

Walking practice with Momma

Then, it was time to go. We, along with another family, headed out to get the passport stuff completed for our girls. Now, apparently, this usually takes about 20 minutes. HOWEVER, because the system has been down for several days, there were so.many.people. there to get their passports (Where are all those people going?! Why did they all need to get their passports today?! Whyyyyy???). We waited in line for TWO.LONG.HOURS. In a hot room. With at least 100 other people. With our 2- and 3-year-olds. And then we started to panic because we found out that the office would be closing at noon for a lunch break, not opening again for at least another hour or two. And here’s the thing: we were trying to re-book our flights to Guangzhou. We found a flight that was scheduled to leave at 2:50 pm; so, we had to get the photos taken before noon or we would have to cancel that flight, too, with the next flights not leaving until much later at night or the next morning. And we wanted to make that flight!!!

Tick, tick, tick. The minutes ticked by as we very, very slooooooowly inched toward the front of the line. 11:45 am - we were getting closer. 11:50 am - so close! Just a few people ahead of us now. 11:55 am - haven’t moved. Several people ahead of us are taking foreeeeeeever to take their photos (why? just look straight ahead, people. It’s not hard!!!!). 11:58 am. We reach the front of the line. But we have a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old who need to stand still. Look straight ahead. Don’t move. 11:59 am. Our 3-year-old buddy is done. Come on, Bella. You can do it!!!! Let’s make it happen before the angry police officer kicks us out!!! Take 1 - fail. Take 2 - fail. Take 3 - good enough! Let’s go! (And by “Let’s go!” I mean let’s now literally run upstairs to try to convince the next office to stay open so we can complete the final step of the passport process). We JUST make it! We thank them profusely for staying open a few minutes for us. And then, the boss man comes over and insists they have a staff meeting and the people working with us need to come right now. Our facilitator pleads with them to finish. We’ll miss our flights! Please! We promised to send gifts next week (seriously! we did!) so they would finish the process for us. They do, for our Bella. Then we discover that there is a problem with our buddy, the daughter of our adoptive family friends. There is a photo missing from the computer system that the orphanage was supposed to upload. They were supposed to upload. But they didn’t. This means, for our sweet friends, they have to cancel yet another flight and stay at least another day in Hohhot. My heart broke for them. :( I would have lost it - after the complete chaos and exhaustion from the morning, I would have completely broken down.

After dropping them back off at the hotel, we guiltily headed to the Hohhot airport to catch our 2:55 pm flight and say goodbye to our beloved Hohhot facilitator/guide, Aggie, who was our lifeline while here. We promised to keep in touch (we will!) and begged her to move to the States. We were so lucky to have her. I don’t know what in the world we would have done without our Aggie this first week. 

 

We love Aggie!!!

 

 

View from the front of the Hohhot airport. So pretty! Photos don't do it justice.

So, we arrived to the airport only to learn...there was an hour delay in our flight. No biggie. We can handle an hour delay. We got checked in. We went through security (no stolen computers this time - score!). We found a spot we could grab some lunch and a warm beer (Yes. I said warm. Have I mentioned that the Chinese do NOT refrigerate their drinks? They think that’s gross. To them, room temperature is cold and anything heated up is considered normal. Hence, our room temperature beer). We headed down to the gate. And waited and waited and waited. An hour had passed. Surely, our flight would be boarding soon. Right? Right. Finally, it was time to board the bus to head to the plane (because the planes are boarded in the middle of the runway, not at a gate. So, you jump on a little bus to get to them).

We got on the plane. And waited and waited and waited. Our sweet Bella, who had been a total ROCKSTAR all day yet again, especially having napped only about 10 minutes on her daddy’s shoulder while we waited in the government line (have I mentioned this girl LOVES her a good, solid nap? So she was rocking it on only 10 minutes), was finally starting to get a little tired and fussy. We were willing the plane to start moving. Please, oh, please start moving. Please!! And then, an annoucement came on overhead: there is a problem with air traffic control. Please remain in your seats. We’ll take off when we can.

An hour later - yes, AN HOUR LATER - another announcement overhead: there are now weather delays in Guangzhou. Please remain in your seats and we’ll take off when (If????) we can.

An hour later - yes ANOTHER HOUR, we were still sitting on a motionless plane. If you’re doing the math, this means that our flight was delayed an hour plus and then we were sitting on a plane for two solid hours. With a tired 2-year-old. But finally, yes finally, for the love of all things holy, the plane started moving. Y’all. We left our hotel shortly before 10:00 am to complete the passport process. It was now 5:00 pm. So basically, for seven hours, we had either been standing in lines or sitting on a (motionless) plane. OhmydearLord. Absolute and total cluster of a day. 

Ready to rock this first flight with our girl!
 

She was a rockstar!

 

Note the sweet Daddy in the background playing with his littlest girl and the absolutely exhausted momma in the forefront

But, let me pause to tell you about my amazing daughter. Aside from her few moments of fussiness (like, maybe 15 minutes all day!), she was just as calm and content as can be. She played with her Daddy. She played with her Momma. She played with all the surprises I have been saving for the long flight back to the States (note to self: buy more surprises in Guangzhou). She ate snacks. She drank juice. She did what she does: chilled and went with the flow. This girl is unbelievable. Three cheers for Bella! And finally, about 30 minutes after we had taken off, she passed out. She was literally playing one minute and then was asleep the next. Ha!

Once our flight finally landed, we met up with our (new) facilitator, Lily, who will be guiding us during the rest of our stay in China. We made it to our hotel around 10:00 pm, and are now about to crash. And after all this we went through I just have to say....wow! Are we happy we made it Guangzhou. The hotel we are staying in (The Garden Hotel) is the nicest and most beautiful hotel I have EVER stayed in. I'll snap more pictures throughout the week, but here is a quick shot of the lobby I took while walking in. Gorgeous! 

Tomorrow is a big day: We have Bella’s medical appointment, TB test, and visa photo. Luckily, the weekend will be low-key, full of resting and touring, while we await for our big consulate appointment on Monday. You can bet your bottom dollar we are thankful this day is done and that we are one step closer to returning home.

On a side note, despite the utter and complete cluster that was today, I teared up when leaving Hohhot, and silently expressed my gratitude for this city as we flew away. This is where my daughter was born. I said a prayer for her birth momma, and any sibling(s) she may have, and tried to memorize the landscape as we passed overhead. I took videos to show Bella and promised we would return to her hometown one day, when she is older and ready to visit. But for today, we are thankful to be one day closer to going HOME.

So long, Hohhot. We'll be back one day. <3