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The Wait | Resources | China Trip | Our Agencies | Emma's Album |
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We had to be ready for a 10am departure so that meant getting up early again - something that had become a routine. It seemed, even after almost three weeks in China, that our body's clocks were still adjusting to the time difference. We were ready to leave by 8am and loaded in to our driver's car and headed to the Beijing Airport. This time, however, we were on our own. Donna got us into the airport but could only escort us part of the way. She gave us instructions, we hugged, said our good-byes and made our way to the Northwest counter. I had to get a new ticket since I had changed our return flight and wasn't sure what to expect. It did take awhile and through it all I wasn't sure the agent and I were actually communicating. We were finally issued new tickets, loaded up our baggage (containing most of China) and headed to Chinese Immigration. This was the first stop that required that I hand over Emma's Immigrant Visa - the package I was guarding with my life. I was nervous in doing so and didn't take my eyes off it. We breezed through, regathered our stuff and headed for our gate. The wait wasn't too long and, thankfully, we had plenty of "treats" to occupy Emma. We were approached by several Americans traveling on the same flight. Everyone adored our new little girl!
The flight was full and it was long - even though it was about three hours shorter than our flight from Minneapolis to Hong Kong. Neither of us got any sleep and other than a short cat-nap or two, Emma stayed awake along with us. There were a couple periods of discontent accompanied by loud screams and persistent crying. Not too much we could do other than endure it and we did. We arrived in Detroit on time, deplaned and headed to US Immigration. The wait wasn't too long and once it was our turn, we handed over Emma's papers and the tightly guarded Immigrant Visa. What a relief it was to turn that document over to it's rightful recipient! Emma's passport was stamped and we headed to our new departure gate to wait for the flight that would take us home to Atlanta. While we were waiting, we were surprised by a long-time friend of my mother's. She lives in the Detroit area and my mother had told her about our arrival. She came by to see Emma and shoot a few pictures to send to my parents. It was a nice surprise and the first familiar face we'd seen in three weeks! The next leg, Detroit to Atlanta, seemed like a short hop compared to all the flying we'd done. Emma was fine the entire way - just one last diaper change on the floor in the rear of the plane. We knew we had a welcoming party waiting for us and hoped Emma would be alert, happy and awake. However, just as our wheels hit the ground, she fell asleep! Walking off the plane was strange. We had all been awake for days, it seemed and everything was moving in slow motion and in a fog. As we walked along the skyway, Emma woke up. I had my eye to the camcorder as we deplaned and entered the terminal. We heard shouts, screams and applause. What a homecoming! We sat on the floor in the terminal as everyone took their turn with Emma. She was amazing - awake, alert, full of laughs and smiles! She was passed from person to person, played with her new cousins, walked around and looked so content. We were walking on clouds. After a half-hour or so, we picked up our stuff, left to get our baggage, loaded it into the waiting cars and headed home! We truly loved our trip to China and hope to return some day - but, in the words of a well-known Dorothy, |
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 Copyright © 1998, Terrance F. Kasper |
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