Wednesday: More officialness…not officiousness.

Today we had to pick up the finished papers from the Civil Affairs Office we visited on Monday to finalize the adoption. Not sure why the papers take two days or who does what to them while we’re gone. Bureaucracy is the same everywhere, we’re learning, and frankly it appears the Chinese have it down to a science. Very orderly, very scripted, very straightforward (I imagine) for our guide who’s been through this numerous times. 

So, we picked up the papers then went to the notary. Here was another big difference in how our nations do things. In the states, comparatively speaking, we give out notary public licenses willy nilly to anyone who passes the exam. Based on the little I could gather here, either a notary public is a governmental function or it’s big business. We took the elevator to the 5th floor and were walked past a display case with beautiful pieces of art - an engraved & gilt gavel, a silver eagle head sculpture, a glass horse - and all sorts of plaques and awards. We were escorted past lots of cubicles and file storage areas into a large waiting room containing 20 other people. There we waited for 30 minutes or so. Turns out this wasn’t a waiting room, but actually the place where you sign the papers. A notary in an official uniform came to our table and witnessed our signatures on all sorts of papers with Chinese characters on them. I’m pretty sure I agreed to vote for the reunification with Taiwan should it ever appear on a referendum in New York state.

After the signing, we headed to lunch at a restaurant in a nearby mall. It was super-yummy. Sushi, teriyaki chicken, noodles & broth, and french fries for our baby. Turns out she really likes them. Of course, don’t most kids? For myself, I can’t get enough of the Asian food. California rolls, marinated raw salmon salad, anything from the sea is done well here. In fact, all the food we’ve tasted has been uniformly excellent. I’ll try to remember to take some pictures…usually I just dig right in.

After lunch we did a bit of shopping in the mall. Like in the US, the shopping mall is a sensory assault - ads everywhere, smells and sounds, and about as many people as the Saturday night before Christmas - on a Wednesday afternoon! Then off to the official-office-of-getting-a-Chinese-passport (I can’t remember what it’s called). Ca had to get her picture taken. The pigtails so lovingly tied this morning had to come out. The official picture has strict requirements. No visible hair ties, no smiles, and - most vexingly - no bangs over the eyebrows. You’d think that would be no big deal, and you’d be wrong. Perhaps you’re not familiar with Chinese hair. It resists going places it’s not been before. We wet it, we combed it, we teased it, we pleaded with it. This was determined hair. Eventually the picture taker had pity upon us and took the picture anyway. We exited hastily past the long line of people who had queued while we were attempting a coiffeur’s miracle.

At the passport application office, we again met with the very efficient, kind, and caring orphanage director. It has been nothing short of remarkable to us that Ca has remained stoutly committed to us despite opportunities to glom onto familiar people, or even unfamiliar people who actually understand what she’s saying and can answer her in a way she understands. In addition to the orphanage director, there have been a number of guides, hotel staff, etc. who have established really great rapport with her and yet she still eagerly clasps E’s neck when we leave them. Thank you for your prayers for the bonding process.

We have learned that Ca’s passport will in fact be ready on Friday morning before we leave Beijing, saving the uncertainty of traveling without it and having it shipped to Guangzhou. We are thankful for that.

At the passport office, our sweet girl began acting like a tired and cranky sweet girl - a little crazy, a little defiant…”disregulated” as S would say. It was past nap time, and she needed a nap. In the car, our guide explained - at our request - that when we got back to the hotel, it would be time for her and Mama to take a nap. Ca clearly expressed her unfavorable opinion of that idea. In the room, a struggle to stay in bed resulted in about an hour’s worth of tears and rejection of Mama. E kept hoping the tears would dissolve into sleep, but they didn’t. However, they did dissolve into forgiveness, and Ca again allowed E to talk to her, be close, and touch her. So, nap abandoned, B and I took Ca to the pool. We were all happily surprised when she agreed to go without E. 

E took the time to pray and think through the nap struggle, and reboot for mothering - she was very grateful to have space in which to do that. When they returned, Ca allowed B to give her a bath for the first time, and then we made a concession and spent some time on devices. Most of that involved Ca taking pictures of herself making silly faces, showing the rest of us, and us laughing, and mimicking her expressions, which resulted in Ca’s hysterical laughter. We had a lot of fun. But the funniest thing of the whole day was when Ca realized that by typing the wrong passcode into B’s iPod repeatedly, she could get it to lock out - which apparently looked to her as though she was making a phone call. She then spent about 15 minutes walking around the room with the locked-out iPod against her ear talking to an imaginary telephone buddy. And she wanted to not see us, so she kept going behind the curtains. We had lots and lots of laughs together this afternoon. Dinner upstairs again at the appetizer/dessert buffet where we learned that Ca likes chicken nuggets and loves strawberries. Then the guys went out shopping and E put Ca to bed early. Hopefully we don’t pay for that too dearly in the morning. Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall!

Some camera fun follows...