Most parents adopting from China will have a picture of their baby taken on one of the red couches which sit on the 2nd floor of the White Swan Hotel. Don't ask why - it's a tradition!
It's typically a time full of crying babies, parents showing up late, and a stressed out adoption coordinator. In our case, Genie was trying to get a group photo of all the babies on the couch. She also wanted separate photos of the kids from individual orphanages.
Waterfall inside White Swan Hotel.
Zoe in stroller, prior to becoming one of the cats.
Our adoption group, include Genie (seated front row, far right).
And now, for the famous (screaming kids) RED COUCH PHOTOS:
It starts with one crying munchkin (to the left)
And then it starts to spread!
Some kids just sit there like "what's the big deal?", while others seem to be screaming "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!"
I don't want this stinking rattle I don't want to be here I don't LIKE it here! Waaaaah!
The day before we left, we had to go to the US Consulate in Guangzhou for the official Citizenship Oath ceremony.
Here's a group of nice friendly helpful Chinese police. Just ready to lend a hand to Chinese citizens heading towards the US Consulate. I think the two ladies in this photo had just come out of the Consulate.
The Consulate used to be on Shamian Island, and within walking distance of the White Swan. It moved earlier this year, and is now about a 20 minute bus ride.
Group of people outside the US Consulate. Some people are holding the "brown envelope", which is turned over to US Immigration upon entrance into the USA. It contains all the notarized documents generated during your stay in China. You are not allowed to open the envelope, and it has all sorts of stamps & seals on the flap.
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