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Meet Me in Guangzhou

The Trip of a Lifetime

By Tonya HieserPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Ready for a Day in the Sun

My husband and I boarded the 15-hour flight to Guangzhou, China. We had spent the last fourteen months completing all the necessary paperwork, preparing our home, and packing and re-packing our suitcases. Finally, the time had come to meet our ten-month-old daughter for the first time.

We landed at the Baiyun International Airport at 6:30 Sunday morning, August 1, and were escorted to the White Swan. Over the next 11 days, this five-star hotel would be home for us and four other families: a couple of teachers adopting their first child, a couple who brought their four-year-old daughter along to meet her new sister, a couple who were adopting twins, and another couple of first-time parents whom I had emailed frequently during the months of waiting.

On the second day of our trip, we all loaded into a van and headed for the Civil Affairs office, the air thick with nervous excitement. Today was the day we would receive the babies into our arms and lives! Our guide told us that the babies had arrived from their orphanages only a few minutes after we were seated in the “waiting room.”

When our baby’s name was called, we didn’t understand what they were saying. They called to us twice, and then our guide said, “That’s your baby!” We popped out of our seats and rushed over to the orphanage staff members who were carrying the most beautiful little baby girl we had ever seen. They immediately handed her to us, her eyes big as saucers, but not one tear. We took turns videotaping each other holding her and telling her how much we already loved her.

The orphanage director and his assistant told us that she was a happy baby and a good eater. She had always been healthy, and they proudly demonstrated her ability to stand while holding onto furniture. We had been informed that often the babies were developmentally delayed due to lack of attention and “tummy time,” but not so with this little one!

Once all the paperwork was completed, we returned to the hotel for some free time to get acquainted with our babies. Our daughter was more active than we had imagined and freely crawled about the hotel room. Keeping her away from the outlets, remote control, and the sharp edges of the furniture proved to be a full-time job. This new addition to our family was certainly going to liven things up!

During the next few days, we had a wonderful time shopping and sightseeing as one large group. There were many restaurants and tiny shops located right outside of the hotel. Because of the number of adoptive families that stayed at the White Swan throughout the year, souvenirs and baby clothes were the main items for sale in the shops.

Sightseeing trips were arranged by our facilitators, a husband and wife team who also assisted with paperwork, travel arrangements, and any other needs while we were in China. We saw the Chen Family Home, an elaborate estate that was over 150 years old, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park with its beautiful gardens, and the Guangzhou Zoo. Often these visits were shortened by the high heat and humidity of the climate in Southern China.

At the end of our stay, the families all met in the lounge of the hotel, for one last goodbye. Anywhere else we might have seemed an odd bunch—some drinking Coke, some drinking champagne, some drinking formula—but in Guangzhou, China at a beautiful hotel called the White Swan, we were just a group of people who had come together for the most amazing trip of a lifetime!

adoption
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