On the day of your visit to get your child, the guide will meet you at your hotel. We are usually there before them. We ate our breakfast and waited for our guide to show. She walked in around the time we were to meet. The first thing they will ask is do you have your paperwork, food for the child, etc. Then we loaded into the van. If the group is bigger, you might get into a bus. Then, it is off to our meeting place.
Our first adoption happened at a site close to our hotel and it had an area where they present the child to the family. In Harbin, we met at a building in the downtown area. Our guide led us to an office and we sat. At this point, the orphanage director and one or two other people come into the room. She proceeds to ask a couple of questions. What do we do? When was Michelle adopted and where? Do you have specific paperwork? As we are doing this, the door opens and in comes Elana with a woman. The first thing we notice is her smile.
I always get a little nervous and excited at this point. You wonder how the child is going to react to their new parents. Most have been positive. I think Mia cried a lot. Elana was similar to Michelle. She readily came to us.
At this point, it is time to leave. No money switches hands. It is time for our 24 hour getting to know you period. We are hustled back to our van and brought to a store, so we can load up on supplies. We buy what things that we think Elana might eat. In this case, it is formula. Little did we know that she does not really drink it.
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