TravelingtoChina

Wednesday, Aug 1st, 2007 started like any day.   This
day, however, was special because we finally began
the journey planned, only generally, in September of
2005. The details of our trip only came together over
the past several weeks.

This morning we prepared to board one of many flights
on the first leg of our trip to China to adopt Yong Yu
Ping, who will officially become our daughter, Amelie Yu
Ping Wong. The reality still has not taken hold. Only
10 months ago we were blessed with the birth of our
biological daughter, Isabelle.   The pregnancy was a
surprise; it was a supposed physiological impossibility.
Although I've had plenty of time to contemplate my
future situation as a father of three, the gravity of this
change simply has not, and won't seem to, register.

With the invaluable help of Heather's mom, Ann, and
our good friend, Danielle, we made it to KCI with plenty
of time to spare.   There was no chance of being
rushed, as Heather had our early arrival planned
carefully.   I was along for the ride, and trusted Heather
would not rely on precision timing for this trip. The only
thing Heather did not rehearse was the emotion we
would both release upon leaving Isabelle. We thank
Danielle and Mom for giving us that extra time to say
goodbye.

We arrived at LAX without issue. Our flight to
Guangzhou was scheduled to leave at 11:30PM, and
we had lots of time before China Southern would open
its ticket counter.   Hours later, finally settled at our
gate, we began to notice the other Americans traveling
on our flight. More accurately, they were noticing us.
Not coincidentally, they were young couples, or women,
and they were childless (at least for the next few days).

One-by-one they would approach us. They were also
adopting. They were curious about our prior
experience, and about Travers, our son traveling with
us, who was adopted from China. Coincidentally, two
couples were also adopting boys, a statistical rarity. A
single woman, who seemed less curious then the
others, approached us to show us some pictures of her
adopted daughter. Quickly, without being solicited, she
let us know that she knew who we were, saying: "I know
you; you are the Wongs."   Apparently, Heather's web
prowess has given us some notoriety. With my family's
story posted for all to see, I suddenly felt exposed.
When we entered the airplane, a woman in premium
class waved to Heather as she passed thru with
Travers slumped over, asleep in her arms.   She was
from Kansas City; like us, her family was adopting for
the 2nd time.   Perhaps we are over-exposed.

Prior to embarking, we opened a very meaningful and
generous gift from our friends in KC. Prepared and
presented by Rob and Dana, individual families took
the time to record their well wishes on DVD. It resulted
in a very special moment for which we will always
remember.

Twelve hours after leaving our house, we finally settled
where we will be for the next 15 hours. We only paid
for coach class, a mistake I will not make again on this
length of trip. As people filtered in, Heather decided to
get comfortable. Naturally, she removed her shoes to
relax. In what seemed only fractions of a second, a
detestable musk wafted through the already
sweat-odored cabin. Simultaneous to my look of
disgust, there was a similar, equally strong reaction
from all nearby passengers.   So rank the odor, it only
took the next fraction of the same second for my face
to silently dictate my first, and what might prove to be
most important decision of this trip; that is, that those
shoes will never again be removed in closed space.

At 5:30AM on August the 3rd, we arrived in
Guangzhou. As warned, the summer air is thick with
moisture.   There is no chance this won't soon release
as rain... I pray. After rechecking our luggage to
Changsha, we stopped in our first Chinese restaurant
to enjoy some dumplings and pork-filled steamed buns.
As my Grandmother would utter a noise, "ding gua
gua", which in our house was a Cantonese compliment
for "the best food".

Focusing on the adoption left us little time to focus on
basic travel 101.   In our planning, we completely forgot
to gain a competence of the $US to Yuan/RMB
exchange rate. This impromptu snack-break cost us
711 RMB or about $100.00. Easy come, easy go.

Our flight to Changsha departed on time around
9:30AM.   When we arrived, our Chinese guide "Amy"
was waiting for us. We were thankful to see her; since
we were arriving 2 days early, we didn't know if we
would have the benefit of this service.