Thoughts of a Father: Lily, Day 2

Today was just plain busy. Three appointments to make official Lily's adoption. First, it was back to the 26th floor of the Civil Affairs office. There we were interviewed by the social worker. Such questions as, "Why do you want a Chinese baby? What is your occupation? Are you satisfied with your baby?" and, "Do you promise to never abandon or abuse your baby?" were posed to us. Then we went down the hall to pay our "donation" to the orphanage. I felt bad for the guy counting the money. He was locked inside a room the size of a bedroom closet behind about 4 inches of bullet proof glass. At least he had a fan blowing on him. He had to examine each and every hundred dollar bill from every family. All bills had to be unmarked, no folds or tears...something that was not easy to come by at the bank back at home. Once those two steps were done, Lily became officially ours. Our daughter forever. At least in China. We still have the legal end to follow through with on the U.S. end. From there we moved on to two other locations. One was another interview with the same questions as asked of us on the 26th floor of our previous stop. Then it was off to the police station to have Lily photographed for her passport which should be ready Friday. Finally, we headed to the local Wal-Mart for some shopping.

Since both Lily's suitcase as well as my own suitcase have vanished into the abyss of United Airlines lost baggage, we had to replace some of her belongings. As for me, I've had my share of challenges. NOTHING in the country fits me. Even with all the weight I've lost thus far, I'm off their charts. I can't even find a shoe larger than size 9 here. With the use of a few borrowed t-shirts, hand washing in the bathroom sink, and using an iron to dry my clothes, I'm getting by. Fortunately our dear friends back home went to our house and packed up more of our belongings and Fed-ex'd them to us here in China. They should arrive Thursday.Lily seems to be doing just fine. She has been a bit more fussy today, but the bonding has begun. Bonding with Mommy that is. She wants to be in Mommy's arms constantly today. She screams when put down. She SCREAMS when in my arms. This is all very normal we are told. I'm just glad she is bonding with Mommy first. My time will come.

Tomorrow we are off for a local tour of Nanchang. This will be followed up with dining at a local restaurant for lunch. We are told we will experience the "local flavor." With some of the things I've been seeing in the hotel restaurant, this could be scary. One I found most interesting last night, which I DID NOT try was "Sauteed duck tongue with chicken feet and hearts." I'm usually somewhat of an adventurous eater, but the was pushing the envelope a bit for me. I was proud of myself though; Today at lunch I sampled the four-inch long squid on my seafood skewer.