Our paperwork problem has not been solved as it is still the weekend in the U.S. But we arrived in the paradise of Guangzhou this afternoon where our new coordinator who also goes by the name Helen reassures us that our problem has happened to families before and gotten fixed in time to go home as planned. She reassured us that our adoption agency will be able to fix it.
She should know she deals with the Consulate all the time. She even went to one of the Consulate member's houses in the middle of the night to get a family out of the country for a family emergency. We are starting to feel better.
We still plan to make lots of phone calls tomorrow night (Mon. a.m. in U.S.) to make sure this gets settled. We'll call the Louisville CIS, National Visa Center, USCIS Customer Service line and even Mitch McConnell and Ed Whitfield if we need to do so.
Shamian Island is Guangzhou really does feel like paradise compared to where we've been. It's like Florida with its weather and palm trees. The island was built when the European Consulate was located there. All the buildings have an European influence. The island is calm and peaceful even though there is some construction going on to prepare for the Asian Games in November. Best thing yet, motorcycles and motorbikes have been forbidden to prepare for the games. There are very few cars on the island. We can walk around the island's park, stores and restaurants safely.
Also comforting is the large number of families here at our hotel adopting from China also. Everyone wants to stop and look at each other's babies and compare stories.
We even ate an the American restaurant tonight called Lucy's. As soon as Natalie sat down, she said, "I'm eating some meat!" She ordered a hamburger which was rather large and ate every single bite.
Natalie seems very at home here. She wants to know what we did here when we adopted here. It is good for her to be in the province where she was born.
So we're happy to be back here, but still on pins and needles about this visa revision that needs to be sent from Louisville. We're hoping for the best.
We'll send more photos tomorrow.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
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I am glad you have met Helen. She seems to have a handle on things and has managed to offer you some comfort which is very important. I am glad you are in Guangzhou and things seem familiar. Take care, write when you can-Beth
ReplyDeleteHelen was awesome when I was in China adopting my daughter. I had an incident that needed immediate attention and FTIA and Helen worked relentlessly to resolve the problem. You are in good hands.
ReplyDeleteFellow FTIA family...Andrea