Settled in Nanchang at last

Elf found his way to China!

Glam shot

Luke and his pillow pet

Enjoying breakfast in Nanchang

Fancy gingerbread house on breakfast buffet in Shanghai

 

The flight to Nanchang is like a walk in the park compared too yesterday.  We met a very nice family from California while waiting at the airport.  The father was born and raised in Nanchang and his two daughters were born in the states.  He is returning home after 15 years to see parents and relatives.  His daughter Jessica is 10 and she played Uno with Lily.  He gave us his phone number and said if we need anything while in Nanchang to call.

We arrived in Nanchang and easily connected with our local guide Yan Lin.  There were about 20 people awaiting arrivals compared to the hundreds yesterday.  Nanchang is a city of around 5 million.  Our hotel, the Galactic Peace hotel, sits in the middle of old Nanchang.  The room has an art deco feel, but I am sure the hotel was built much more recent than that.  The lobby also sported the tall decorated Christmas tree.  We checked into one room and I inquired about a roll away bed since we would soon be a family of 5.  The clerk said they had a crib they could send up and how old was our new daughter.  When I told them she was almost 5 and I did not think a crib would work, they just shook their heads.  Ok, two twin beds and 5 people, you do the math.  The twin beds are oversized, not the size of a regular double, but I am used to sleeping with Lily and her body forms whatever shape I chose to sleep in.  Daddy gets to sleep with Luke, the tossing, turning, kicking boy.  We asked our guide Lin if the local Wal-Mart store carried camping supplies as we thought an air mattress would work.  She looked a bit perplexed by the mention of camping supplies.  She said she understood that was done in the US but not something Chinese families generally did. 

We explored the hotel and found a beautiful pool.  We decided to get out and buy some supplies and snacks and so took a taxi to Wal-Mart.  Our guide had warned us that the next two days are the busiest time to shop due to the holidays and boy was she right.  The store was packed and you just had to push your way around.  The crowd, loud Christmas music and bright lights quickly overwhelmed me and the kids.  John is more used to this situation and luckily can ask the location of items needed, English is not heard often.  We did have success with finding a blow up mattress and also grabbed some snacks.  We ate at a KFC on the way out.  The menu is quite different from the US but we managed to point to pictures on the menu and my chicken sandwich was ok.  The egg custard tarts they had were great, wish they had those back in the states.  Lily became quite conscious of the stares we were getting as we sat and ate.  People are just curious when they see Chinese children with Caucasian parents.  John explained that they would probably stare too if they saw two Caucasian children with Asian parents at home.  Once in a while someone will ask John a question about the children.  I am so thankful he can explain the situation.

Tomorrow is the big day.  Jing yi will arrive at the hotel around 10am and will come to our room to meet us.  We will have an hour or two to barely get acquainted before being whisked off from place to place to complete the adoption.  In a matter of 4 hours, it will all be done; she will be our daughter legally.  Of course that just marks the beginning of a very long process of bonding and adjusting for every family member.  I wonder what Jing yi is thinking about tonight?  More photos to come tomorrow eventually after a very long day.