Adoption=Boring

Apparently adoption day is quite boring.....at least when you are 3 it is.  Our day started out at 8am.  We took our lives in our own hands and took a taxi to the Civil Affairs Office.  I'm not sure what you have to do to get a drivers license here, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't involve having to know how to drive.  I think the main qualifications must be having nerves of steel and the ability to use your horn.

Despite the harrowing taxi ride, we made it to the Civil Affairs Office in one piece.  Now I know why they wanted to postpone our adoption by one day.  The Civil Affairs Office was closed for meetings today.  They did process us but it seems that they used an intern or something because the guy that did our paperwork looked to be about 18 years old.  If that.  An older lady came in at the end and checked over everything.  It all looked the same as when we adopted Claire, so I'm sure he did it all correctly.  It was just different.  Last time there was an office full of families and children being adopted.  There was a guide for each family and several workers from the office.  This time, it was just us.  Just us and our guide and two teenage boys processing the papers.  Oh, and a nice man from the orphanage. 

After the paperwork is signed, everybody has to put a red fingerprint on it.  It's like it's signed in blood or something.  I'm not sure the significance of this.  Asher wanted no part of it.  He wanted to go and that is it.  He didn't think this was a very fun way to spend the day!

And it only got worse.  Once we finished up at Civil Affairs, the adoption was official and complete.  But, the business day was definitely not.  Another harrowing ride across town to the passport office.  That was just a mess if ever I saw one!  Crowds of Chinese people everywhere, no one knows what a line is and everyone is speaking all at once.  But, our guide knew just what to do.....act like you are next in line and push to the front!  That's how we got his passport picture done when there were 20 other people trying to get in. 

When it came time to file for the passport, that was a different story.  The officer that was supposed to do it didn't know how and wouldn't do it.  There was much discussion between him and our guide and the orphanage guy and finally they sent us to someone else.  Apparently she knew what to do, but by this time Asher was good and wound up.  He was running in circles, playing kung fu on Paul and many other boyish things.  By the third cab ride, he'd had enough.  So, he threw up.  Yes, he did.  The cabbie was thrilled!  Yeah, not really.  And we had been warned by his foster mama not to put him in the car much.  I have to wonder what kind of humor God has.  We are a non-McDonald eating, half vegetarian, long car trip taking  family! Oy vey. 

The third stop was the notary office.  The notary was the exact same woman that processed Claire's adoption.  That part was a cinch and we were quickly on our way.  We asked to stop at a supermarket to get some water.  You can not even use the water here to brush your teeth, much less drink it, so you must buy bottled water.  A taxi dropped us off somewhere we were comfortable!

Shoulda known there would be Walmart in China! We saw many familiar things......and some, not so familiar.  Like this Great Value shredded pork.....it was like bread crumbs....but not.  Yuck. 

So, for the moment I'm sure many of you have been waiting for.  After that horrid and boring day for our boy......

Yes, he got his darned Micky D's.  Blah!  We actually took him there twice.  Once for lunch when he got fried oil sticks  french fries and mystery meat nuggets chicken nuggets and later after he had a meltdown in the subway, the suckers that we are, we got him an ice cream from the McDonald's at the station. 

So, it wasn't his best day as a Gour, but he is officially a Gour now!  And, he got to skype with his Godparents. 

Which was.....ummm....interesting.  It involved a lot of Asher hiding from the camera and Steve making strange faces.  It's the start of a beautiful, albeit strange, relationship! 

How do I know he's a Gour? He loves to pose for the camera!

Tomorrow I'll tell you what we did and did not see at the orphanage today.  Because yes, after all the business of the adoption was over, we thought it would be an excellent time to take a tour.  Well we did have to pay our mandatory "orphanage donation" to you know.  Since we wanted to and all.  And it is a "donation;"  that's mandatory.  But, those two words totally work together right?