July 14

July 14

This is our last day in China.  We’re not looking forward to the long day of travel ahead.  But, we are anxious to get home.

Yesterday was the “swearing in” ceremony at the U.S. Consulate.  This was really the culmination of our journey.  And, although we had all been anticipating this event, we really were happy to see it end.  It began with a sweaty bus ride that lasted about an hour.   Then, we had to drag the children up four flights of escalators.  At the top, we went through security, only to discover that we were not allowed to bring cameras into the building.  We had to leave all cameras at the desk.  Once inside, we learned that our “appointment” was just the designated time for all adoptive families whose paperwork was being processed to report.  So, there were approximately 50 families jammed into the room with whining, hungry kids.  One by one, the children’s Chinese names were called while parents struggled to understand the pronunciation of their precious name over the background din.  Then, when the name was finally called, passports and child were presented and one parent was required to sign one document and told to sit down again.  After all the families had been called, a consulate employee spoke to us for awhile about the processing of the paperwork and the number of annual adoptions.  Then, the parents stood, raised their right hands, and took the citizenship oath on behalf of the children.  So, that was it.  Technically, Lacey won’t be a U.S. citizen until she sets foot on U.S. soil.

Lacey continues to adjust to being part of an American family.  She has learned to play Uno.  She also taught me a couple card games that she has played before.  She cheats like crazy and then jumps around waving the victory sign and yelling, “Yeah! Yeah!”  This drives Cassie nuts.  Lacey has also begun refusing to use anything but a Western style toilet.  Chinese toilets are commonly referred to by Americans as “squatty potties.”  Your imagination can supply the details.  In some restaurants and places frequented by tourists, there may be one or more Western toilets.  And, of course, our hotels have “normal” toilets.  Last night we were in a Chinese restaurant.  I took Lacey to use the restroom (out the back door of the restaurant and across the alley.)  She took one look at the toilet and came out waving her hands emphatically saying, “No! No!”  I asked our interpreter to speak to Lacey.  But, there’s no way she will use a “squatty potty” anymore!  

Today we will swim, pack and maybe go to a local market.  The heat is so relentless that we don’t really want to do any major site seeing.  So, soon we will be home and many of you will be able to meet Lacey in person.