|
|
|||||
|
The Wait | Resources | China Trip | Our Agencies | Emma's Album |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
The Chinese Adoption was a breeze. We found it very interesting and Chinese officials very warm
and accepting. They seemed so pleased that this group of their children had found homes. We were
in Nanchang for six days going through the process and taking side-trips in between our appointments
with the Chinese officials.
Here was our schedule:
The first step was the adoption interview. Everywhere we went, we needed two busses because there were so many of us (sixteen * 3 + some extra familiy + Holt Reps), so on Wednesday morning we crammed our large western bodies, diaper bags, camera bags and strollers into the two busses made for small Chinese bodies and off we went, new parents nervous, babies crying and Cathy telling us about what we were about to do. Pretty exciting. We spent most of the morning at the adoption registrar's office in a large conference room awaiting our turn at the front of the room with the Chinese officials. The babies were great and we all mingled, getting to know each other better, while we waited. When our turn came, I turned my video camera over to one of the dads so he could tape our session. Although we were VERY nervous, it was nothing to get nervous about. The two Chinese officials (both male) were all smiles and very pleasant and gracious. Cathy acted as our interpreter. We were asked several questions, like:
After lunch back at the hotel, we packed up again and headed for the notary's office to get our Chinese adoption finalized. This process was quicker because we were sent out by Orphanage. There were only five babies in our group under the juristriction of the Nanfeng Orphanage (they were all in foster care). The meeting was held in a small dimly lit room. On the way, Cathy told us that at this meeting we were to act serious, but plesant (whatever that meant). Owing to the fact that these two officials had to get up early and drive six hours (they were officials from Nanfeng), I suppose their unpleasantness was to be expected. Also, there was no Cathy there to hold our hand. No smiles, pretty much the same questions, not so good English and a general feeling of uneasyness in the room. Fortunately, this lasted just s few minutes, they rubber stamped some papers, wished us well and out we went, relieved that this part was over! The next step, was to get Emma's picture taken for her visa. This we did on Thursday morning at a local Nanchang photo studio. Again the Jiangxi-16 loaded onto the busses and off we went. We formed a long line outside the studio room and waited our turn. To occupy our time, and Emma's, there was a young Chinese bride in the adjacent room getting her wedding pictures take. We watched the bride and watched Emma as she took it all in. All of this activity and these sights were all quite new to her, having come from a small village that she probably never set foot out of. When it came Emma's turn, she squirmed a little bit, but no tears. In a flash (literally) we were done. The following day we went to the Nanchange Government Center to pick up Emma's Chinese Visa and Chinese Passport. These are the documents that would let us take her from Nanchang to Guangzhou and eventually out of China. Again, a simple, no hitch process. It was a brand new building with a very nice waiting area. The people were pleasant and pleased to assist us. The process took so little time, that the moms and babies waited on the bus outside. That was it! In the eyes of the Chinese we were Emma's new parents. The next day in the hotel, Cathy handed us each our official documents, which included:
The next day, we packed up and left Nanchang and headed for Guangzhou and the U.S. Consulate.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Comments to Emma@NewFX.com
|
 Copyright © 1998, Terrance F. Kasper |
|
