We have MingGe!

We left Shanghai Sunday morning at 11:10, arriving in Shenyang at 1:10. Elaine was there to greet us as well as Christine, our guide and the two drivers. It was such an emotional moment to see Elaine through the glass when we arrived at baggage claim. It seems like we are family.

We dropped our bags at the Liaoning Mansion and made our way to Elaine and Migyeong's apartment. MingGe greeted us at the door. She had her bags packed and was very excited. She was a little shy but also playful. About 5:30 she told us it was time to eat. She normally eats at 4:30 so she was starving! We went to a great restaurant across from their apartment complex. We had a private room with lots of great food. We ate chun bing which is basically like soft tacos. You filled the wrap with any of the meats and veggie that were ordered. Everything is served on a big lazy susan on the middle of the table. We had pork, chicken, tofu, green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts. It was a great meal. By 7:00 we were done and so was MingGe. At that point she was tired and she realized she was not going to be with her Chinese mother. She did cry a little but we made a quick getaway. She fell asleep in the van on the way back to the hotel.
John carried her in but she woke up as we were entering the elevator. The poor little thing was scared and wanted Migyeong. She was really mad at us in the room and was upset for about 15 minutes. At that point she saw the tub. She wanted in with brother Jack and then with Mom. It calmed her down and she was fine for the rest of the night. She slept well but woke up early - about 5:45. We just got back from breakfast and are on our way to the Civil Affairs office
Will write later during nap.
Danelle, John, Jack and MingGe!

A Night in Shanghai

John, Jack and I ventured down to Naning Street for food and fresh air after our 24 hour trip.  The street has been turned into a pedestrian walkway and it was crowded with people.  It reminded me of Times Square.

We left the main thoroughfare and visited a tea shop.  We were invited to sit and have tea.  Chen Rong Shang made us five different kinds of tea.  I was partial to the green tea, Jack liked the sweetest one and John was partial to the Jasmine tea.  We did purchase two tea gifts from our gracious hosts.

After that we were getting hungry so we went in search of dumplings.  We actually saw someone eating exactly what we were looking for so we stopped him and asked him where he got them.  We do not know what kind of meat was being wrapped in the dough, but there was a long line, we watched them make them by the tray full and they were delicious.  I should also mention that our family of three ate dinner tonight for 9 yuan (there are 7-8 yuan / dollar so that's about $1.30).  John's REEB also cost 3 yuan or $.33.  Jack and I had water from the free executive lounge.  When we are a family of four we will have to get three orders!!  All I could think of was this is my girlfriend Linda's kind of town!

After dinner we explored the shops and walked down to the Bund.  The lights across the river were spectacular.  There were also boats and barges lit up.  One was a floating TV!   We grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel.  Tomorrow is a big day.  Jack and I will meet MingGe in person for the first time!  We are excited and nervous.  

Danelle

REEB and Unidentified Fruit

Well I figured out how to get my pictures loaded!  Here is John with his first example of Chenglish this trip.  If you look closely you will see that the drink that he bought is "REEB" - also known as BEER in the US!

We were given a bowl of mystery fruits upon checkin.  Jack and John described the one pictured below with Jack as a cross between an orange and a peach.  Not sure what it is but they both had one!

We Made It

We made it to Shanghai. It is in the mid-forties and rained lightly as we taxied from the airport to the hotel. Our flights were on time and we had no problems getting through customs. We are staying at the Hilton. Since we are only here one night we decided to use Mom's Hilton points. The hotel is exactly what you would expect from a Hilton property. Beautiful executive lounge on the 38th floor with views of the Central Business District and the Bund.
Jack is in heaven because we have a king bed, which means we all get to sleep together (we only have a queen at home)!
The boys have gone for a walk to check out the neighborhood while I volunteered to get our electronics working and let everyone know we made it here. Our phones both have a strong signal but we do not plan on calling anyone unless there is an emergency - the rate is $2 / minute.
The only problem I have so far is I am unable to attach my pictures to blog at this point. I have downloaded them to the laptop, so hopefully we will figure that issue out when we get to Shenyang.
We're basically going to check out the city, eat and go to bed. Tomorrow is the big day and we will be leaving for the airport directly after breakfast.
We are all very excited to meet our little girl. We pray that she will like us!
Danelle

MingGe We're On Our Way!

We leave Kennebunk, ME for China tomorrow morning at 3:30 AM!

MingGe will meet us at the airport in Shenyang on Sunday! We cannot wait. We are beyond excited.

We will post updates from China assuming we can get to the Internet!

Our schedule looks like this:
Leave Boston Fri, Feb 27 at 6:30 AM, Arrive Shanghai Sat, Feb 28 at 15:30.
Eating and sleeping one night in Shanghai.

Leave Pu Dong Airport Sun, Mar 1 at 11:10, Arrive Shenyang Sun, Mar 1 at 13:10.
MingGe will meet us at the airport!
This is where we will complete the Chinese side of the adoption.
Staying at the Liaoning Mansion in ShenYang.

On Sat, Mar 7 all four of us will take a high speed train from Shenyang to Beijing.
Three nights in Beijing at the Luxury Serviced Residence Beijing.

On Tues, Mar 10 we will fly from Beijing to Guangzhou.
This is where we will complete the US side of the adoption.
MingGe will be sworn in as a US citizen on Friday, March 13!!

Immediately following the swearing in ceremony we will take a train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. We will spend 2 days at Disney's Hollywood Hotel at Hong Kong Disneyland before flying back to Boston on Monday, March 16.

That's it for now. Wish us luck!

Love,
Danelle

Thank You Migyeong!

MingGe is very fortunate to have Migyeong in her life. We are thankful for Migyeong’s love and support.

Waiting for TA

CCAA was closed last week for Chinese New Year.

We are patiently waiting for Travel Approval.

As soon as we get the call we will be requesting our Consulate Appointment. We are praying that we can leave next Thursday. If February 12 does not work out we will leave on February 19.

The wait is killing us but we can't wipe the smile off our faces. We are so happy to know that we will be with MingGe very soon. We pray every day that she will be happy with us and her transition is as smooth as possible.

We're almost there!

Danelle