Red Couch, US Consulate and Train to Hong Kong

Today was the day Tess, Tracy and I took our oath at the US Consulate in Guangzhou and the day we would finally leave the White Swan Hotel!

This morning we spent time strolling Shamian Island one last time and packing our bags, giving Tess a bath, and getting ready to leave. Over 50 families were to meet at 2:30 this afternoon for bus rides over to the US consulate in Guangzhou. But before heading to the consulate all the families gathered in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel for the traditional photos on the famous red couches.

The US consulate used to be a few blocks from the hotel, but a few years ago the consulate moved to an area called "new" Guangzhou, a brand new financial and business district approximately 30 minutes from the city center. There was a beautiful park, fountains and open space resembling Freedom Park across the street from the SF Moma.

All the familes entered the consulate through metal detectors and security. Once inside, we were made to wait, but thankfully the consulate deals with more adoptions, 6,500-8,000 per year, than any other consulate in the world so they moved quickly. A nice woman from New Jersey walked us through the oath and answered a few questions and then dismissed the families and sent us all along. One family in our group, ran into a bit of trouble as the wife mispelled her daughters' Chinese name three times and signed a notarized document that was incorrect. Thankfully for her, a senior US official took pity and quickly fixed the type-o.

Returning to the sidewalk we quickly and abruptly said good-bye to the other families and, along with Minhua, hopped a taxi to Guangzhou East train station for our train ride to Hong Kong. Other than having to lug our many bags and Tess up three huge escalators, the train to Hong Kong was delightful, and probably quicker than taking a flight to HK. Tess slept the entire time and caught up on some long overdue naps. About 1:40 minutes later we arrived in Hung Hok Train Station in Kowloon, Hong Kong. A $300 HKD ($27 USD) taxi ride later we now sit in the Regal Airport Hotel where we will stay tonight before boarding Cathay Pacific Airlines flight CX 830 at 10:15 am on Wednesday, December 20, 2006. With good luck and a safe flight we will land at JFK at 12:55 pm on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 where we will excitedly reunite with Mitch.

Our next post will come from Mamaroneck, NY where we will review Sal's Pizza vs. Joe's Pizza and where to find the best cheeseburger!

Tracy and I were talking about our experience these past two weeks and we both agree that everything exceeded all of our expectations and Tess,Tracy and I have all adjusted to one another better than we could have hope for and we all look forward to a bit of the mundane.

Thank you all for reading about our adventure welcoming Tess to the O'Brien family. She is a wonderful little girl that we look forward to watching grow up along side her big brother, Mitch.