HOME!!!

September 20th: It ended with a whirlwind. We got up early to fly to Hong Kong and checked into our hotel in the Kowloon area with our 5 checked bags (we started with 3) and various carry-ons. In addition to the $8 suitcase from Nanchang I picked up a "Swiss Army" suitcase in Guangzhou. I asked the sales person if it was real or fake, and she assured me it was real. I then pointed out that it had "Swiss Army" nameplates but "Samsonite" zipper pulls. The price went down substantially.

We grabbed a bite to eat before heading to Ocean Park, an aquarium/amusement park on the Southern end of Hong Kong island. We took the famous White Star Ferry across the harbor, a lovely 15 minute journey that cost us a total of $.70 for all four of us. That served as the only inexpensive thing in Hong Kong, as far as I could tell. We had little time, but made the most of it, taking in a dolphin and sea lion show, the panda bears, a ride in a tethered hot-air balloon, and a round-trip cable car journey over the mountain.

We then made the mistake of returning to Stanley Market, only to arrive as the shops were closing, so headed back to our hotel, picking up a rather unclimactic dinner of instant noodles from the 7-Eleven. Our hotel room, which cost about 3 times as much as the one in Nanchang, was so tiny we could hardly move past each other in it. Location, location, location. The next morning, the 21st, Kerri enjoyed her first Starbucks visit since arriving, and we had rolls. Breakfast in the 3 times as expensive hotel was not included, but available for the bargain price of $25 per person. We passed. I should note I was the one who found this gem of a hotel.

We made it to the airport in plenty of time, and did some last minute shopping. The flight this time was full, and a little longer, at 14 hours, because Hong Kong is farther South than Beijing. Again, because our flight path was closer to the North pole than Hawaii, it's more about North/South than East/West. The flight was challenging in a number of ways. We had to dump our hot water from our thermos for security reasons, so were at the mercy of flight attendants to make bottles for Sophie. We had a lap ticket, meaning Sophie didn't have her own seat, but instead had to sit on our laps. This made eating, sleeping, and bathroom trips more tricky. Finally, we had a couple with an 8 month old child sitting in front of us. They were the first people from Australia I have ever found to be annoying. They were demanding and rude with the flight attendants and the poor soul who had to sit next to them, and relied on a toy to pacify their son, a battery-operated monkey banging on a drum and screeching. They were completely oblivious to the aggravation this caused all of us sitting around them.

After not a lot of sleep, we made it to Chicago, for our fifth and final trip through customs. (Hong Kong is considered an international destination, even from within China.) Because Sophie was traveling on a Chinese passport, we had to go through the "visitor" line, followed by the "new immigrant" area. There we handed over the sacred "brown envelope" from the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou to the immigrations officer. Without fanfare, he passed us through, officially making Sophie a U.S. citizen. I'm sorry to say we were too tired to much care at that point. We passed our bags through the department of agriculture and rechecked them for the flight to Cedar Rapids. Upon clearing customs we were met by a sign which read "Sophie". It was held by Grandma Goers. My folks met Sophie in person for the first time, shot photos, resupplied us with snacks and drinks, and visited until we had to catch our next flight. It was great to see them, and the pride in their eyes in seeing their newest grandchild made evident their shared joy.

We barely made our flight to Cedar Rapids, which ended up sitting on the tarmac at O'Hare for more time than the actual flight took, and finally made it to Cedar Rapids. As best I can remember, this was the only flight in which Ethan didn't insist on using the restroom immediately upon landing - you know, when every single person on the plane is standing in the aisles, and no one can move anywhere. That being said, he did have remarkable success making it there. When that kid's gotta go, he goes!

We stopped to use the restroom at the gate, and enjoyed a drink from the drinking fountain - our first drink of tap water in 3 weeks. Strangely liberating. Totally exhausted, we were met by a surprise that gave us new life - joining Kerri's folks to pick us up were Karen and Jacob Van Osdol, and Kirk and Sarah Bailey and family. They were holding up a banner that read, "Welcome Home!" signed by all our friends in Washington. We would later discover that on the way to Cedar Rapids they had dropped off gift baskets and prepared meals at our house. A great man once told me that no day is complete until you have done someone else a favor that can never be repaid. Their day was complete. Their thoughtfulness and generosity could not have meant more to us. We are equally grateful to Lars and Dawn Anderson for mowing our yard and loaning us their infant car seat, Mike and Kathi Anderson for stopping by our house and dropping off "girly" toys ahead of our return, as well as a welcome home gift for Ethan, and to Kerri's folks, who took in Darby for the whole 3 weeks, got us safely to and from the airport, and took care of the house while we were gone. Thanks to my folks, Dick and Ellie Goers, for posting to this site when we couldn't, for meeting us at the airport, and for all their love and support. Thanks to all of you who communicated with us via e-mail while we were gone, and for sharing the highs and lows of this 3-year journey with us. We would be honored to be judged by the company we keep.

I will leave you with an image that is simple, but the most satisfying for me - Sophie, safely and contently asleep, in her new home.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to see her yet, please stop by - we're anxious to show her off. Thanks again for being part of our lives. We're richer for it.

Love,

Eric, Kerri, Ethan, and Sophie Goers

Grandma G meets Sophie, O'Hare

Apologies to PETA

Some explanation here - in the top photo you can see a number of dried goods: black beetles the size of golf balls up front, scorpions in teh pink bins in the middle, and enormous dried millipedes wrapped in bundles on the top right. Of course, at the bottom are the dried bengal tiger paws.

Yummy!

September 18  Another lazy morning, followed by hard-fought battles of negotiating for baby clothes. Negotiating for everything in getting tiring. I really enjoyed the game at first, but it takes time, and it's wasted if we find what we want but I can't secure what I think is a good price. I'm probably too greedy. Ethan and Kerri were feeling a little under the weather, so they stayed behind when our group headed off for the pearl market. It turns out the market is nothing more than a collection of wholesale jewelry shops in the center of a huge. mall. Those in our group in the know characterized the prices as no good, turning me off from any possible sales. I was surprised, given that the pearls are from here or Japan.

The real draw was the walk there, which brought us through the Qingping market. We've all heard of exotic markets. This was the exotic market. The saying is that the Cantonese will eat anything on four legs. They were wrong, because scorpions, beetles and millipedes have more than four. One of the photos nearby features these items. Of course, they're all available live as well. Also available are snakes, turtles, frogs and various fish, all for consumption. Dried stuff of all manner was available, as were deer tendons and bengal tiger paws, which might have made getting through customs at O'Hare a little more criminal. I'll save those pictures for viewers with strong stomachs and low animal sensitivities. Karen — these photos are not for you.

Eric

Pictures from The Swan

Life at the White Swan

September 15th – 17th: We did some last sightseeing of Nanchang on the 15th. Nanchang, and the Jiangxi province, are known for their porcelain, so we hit a quality shop and dropped some cash. Enough, that on the morning of the 15th I had to head to the flea market to get another suitcase. I am confident I bought the best suitcase $8 could buy. We went to another temple, as well as another park where Ethan could play on playground equipment. We tried to keep moving before crowds gathered, as some folks have gotten pretty aggressive in getting their picture taken with Ethan, to the point of physically grabbing him to stop him for a moment to take a picture. We know they mean no harm, but it’s distressful none-the-less. We made about the 5th trip to the great Chinese bakery across the street and fed the fish at the local temple, before packing up for our next stop.

In the evening we flew to Guangzhou, a short flight. We arrived around 8:00, with half the kids asleep. The bus ride was an additional 45 minutes, so nearly everyone (including us) ordered Papa John’s pizza at the hotel. The White Swan hotel is all about service. There is an attendant on each floor who mans a station near the elevator ready to call an elevator and hold it open for us as we enter or exit. There’s little need for the "Do not disturb" signs, as they know when we’re there and when we’re not anyway. They remember which room we’re in and direct us there each time we exit the two-sided bank of elevators. Like everywhere else, the breakfast buffet is excellent. There are numerous shops and boutiques inside the hotel, all very up-scale. Ethan and I have put in about 3 hours at the great pool here already, which has been a wonderful return to what Ethan loves.

The hotel is on Shamian island, a quiet refuge from the bustle of the rest of the city. The entire island is a half-mile long, and easily walkable. There are countless shops near the hotel geared toward tourists. Most list no prices, but even the ones that do immediately offer a "discount." I saw some ties I liked and asked how much they were. They told me 150 yuan ($22.50) each. Frankly, these ties would have been a bargain at that price in the States, but in the end I worked out a "buy one get 4 free" deal. We ate at a Thai restaurant the last couple of nights, and I thought I was being daring and exotic by ordering the Thai style fried squid. I was put in my place this evening by the American sitting at the table next to us who ordered the goose claw – whole and completely recognizable. Imagine a fried chicken foot, only much bigger and without any breading disguise.

Yesterday we posed on the famous "red couch" here at the White Swan, though it doesn’t look like the one we’ve seen in countless shots of other babies. Oh well. We tried to get a shot of all the babies on it at one time, but with 15 infants it didn’t work out so well. Sophie kept trying to grab the face of the girl next to her, who was already crying, you get the idea. We got a family shot, as well as family shots of all the other families, and that’s what matters.

We’ve (Kerri’s part of we) had to do some paperwork here, as well as another doctor’s visit for Sophie since arriving, but otherwise we’ve just been walking around, shopping, and swimming at the great pool here. The hotel comes with two twin beds, and we decided we could find better ways to spend the $30 a night it would cost us to get a rollaway for Ethan, so we’ve made due, without much difficulty. The other family with 5 year old boy opted for pairing their son with the mother, but we’ve got Ethan, who flails wildly and shifts constantly while sleeping. Both knowing this, Kerri and I required zero thought or conversation before independently concluding Ethan would get his own bed. It’s worked out fine.

Ethan’s celebrity took a twist today when a modeling agent on the island for a shoot of wedding dresses and tuxedos stopped us, gave us a card, and asked us how long we’d be here, as he’d love to shoot Ethan. We told him no thanks. I told him I was available. He said no thanks. Little else to report, as our shopping continues into tomorrow. We plan on getting the ubiquitous squeaky shoes for Ethan’s cousin Laney in retribution for my brother taking every opportunity to give Ethan loud and annoying toys. While the clerks all tout the leather uppers and attractive design, all I’m interested in is finding the ones with the loudest, highest pitch squeak. I guess new walkers find these things addictive - payback’s coming bro.

Now in Guangzhou!

We have arrived in Guangzhou and are in the White Swan hotel. We had Papa Johns for dinner. We all looked pretty American. I think all 15 families were so tired upon arrival that delivered pizza sounded pretty good. Ethan thought so anyway. So we are six days away from heading home. The hotel seems nice. The good thing is that they have a functioning outdoor pool! Yeah says Ethan!! The weather tomorrow should be 85-92 degrees -- perfect swimming weather. We are also supposed to be headed to the zoo on Wednesday, which should be fun for Ethan. All of the babies were total champs on the flight here. No crying until the end. We were all feeding them, from bottles, on takeoff so their ears would be OK. We are pretty wiped out, so I am heading for bed. On the downside, our room is outfitted with two single beds. Eric is a sound sleeper, and Ethan is the thrasher and kicker, so I will take my chance and squeeze in with Eric for tonight. The poor guy! His toes will be hanging off the end of the bed! We were too cheap to pay the extra $30 for an additional cot. We may change our mind on that one! :) Good night everyone. Enjoy your lovely Sunday tomorrow!

Kerri