Last day in Nanning...

Today, we went to a wonderful local bookshop. You know I love books! I bought several music CDs (a lullaby album for Laney & Landry) and movies, as well as some flash cards for learning Mandarin and other books for Laney and the kids. I also bought a beautiful picture book showcasing Guangxi.

Tomorrow, we'll be getting up early, packing and heading to the airport at 10:45. Our flight for Guangzhou leaves at 12:30pm. I think the flight is only about 45 minutes. It should be a good 1st flight for Laney. We received her Chinese passport today and our official adoption certificate. We are headed into the 2nd leg of the trip now. In Guangzhou, we'll be filing for her visa and going to her medical exam. We will miss Nanning very much and our guide, Michael. He is a gem of a person and will be someone I will email and keep in contact with for a long time. I had an extra KC Royals ballcap with us, and we gave it to him for his son, who is 8. Michael loves US sports team hats/shirts and wears them all the time.

When we received our referral for Laney, I immediately sent a care package to the orphanage. I included an outfit for her to wear, candies & lotions for her nannies, and I also included two disposable cameras. I hoped the nannies would use them to take pictures of Laney, so I could see more of her life in the orphanage. I asked them, in the note I included (translated into Cantonese) to please bring the cameras when I came to get my daughter. When we were given Laney, the orphanage director handed us a bag full of things. (I can't remember if I wrote about this before or not...Gotcha Day was such a happy blur..). Among them were a precious stack of about 35 pictures of Laney...from the time she was 2 months old until the present! Each one was clearly marked with a date. I couldn't even look at them when she gave them to me. I knew I would cry without stopping. What an incredible gift! I have baby pictures of my daughter now! Some of the pictures are difficult to look at. The conditions in the orphanage are not very good. But, Laney looks adorable. So sweet...so patient...just waiting for her family. Also in the bag I received were a stack of pictures of Guiping (very special!) and the two disposable cameras I sent! They said they used them and filled them with pictures.

Tonight, we received the cameras back...fully developed and we also got a CD with all of the pictures on it. I've uploaded three of them for you to see. These were Laney in June of this year...at 15 months old. What a sweet girl! I am so thankful she is in my arms, and not playing on hard tile floors anymore.

We've noticed she moves her hands in very interesting ways and bangs her legs on the floor back and forth sometimes when she is happy and laughing. Many of the orphanage babies do this (even some I've noticed that are staying with their families here in the hotel now.) In the orphanage, toys are a very slim commodity, so hands and feet become a baby's toys. Laney can play with my fingers and touch my face...far more fascinated by that than any of the toys we've brought for her. The first night when we brought her to the hotel, I laid her down in her crib and I noticed she was rocking back and forth gently. She was rocking herself to sleep. I reached down, picked her up and held her. I said, "No more rocking yourself to sleep baby girl! Never again. You have a Mommy now who loves to cuddle and love on you. Just relax and go to sleep." She snuggled in and went straight to dreamland in my arms...and has every night since we got her.

So, that's it for today. We love and miss everyone! We'll be writing to you next from Guangzhou....at the Victory hotel.

Three pictures of Laney, in the Guiping orphanage, taken by her nannyin June 2007:

Video of Laney

Free Day

Hello friends,

We haven't figured out a way to cleverly upload video in an easy way yet, so stand by for those. In the mean time, here are five new pictures of our sweet girl.

We had a nice, quiet day today. We went to a local department store and it was so much fun! Adorable clothes and things and a fascinating system of purchasing. You walk into each area, let's say the shoe department. I looked all the baby shoes over, had Laney's foot measured, picked out a pair of shoes and the woman pulled it for me. Then she handed me a small ticket and I was free to leave and keep shopping. At first I thought this was brilliant! I assumed at the end of my shopping spree I would wind up at some counter and pay and all of my purchases would be waiting for me. Well, it was brilliant to a point. It was nice to be able to browse with Laney in my arms, choosing the items I wanted and only carrying around a thin stack of paper tickets. However, when I went to check out, the whole system suddenly seemed a little less elegant. Each ticket is triplicate. The cashier keeps one. Then I had to return to each department ( i.e., remember where everything was!) and present the same cashier I had spoken with the next two copies. Then that person handed me whatever it was I had picked out there, and took one ticket, leaving me with my purchase and the last ticket. It was a bit like a crazy "Let's play "Memory" with the funny American tourist lady" game. I had to retrace my footsteps, remember where I had been, who I had talked to, etc. It was weird. But I got some fun things for my kids, and I had a nice time.

After shopping, our guide asked us if we were missing the food from home. He actually said he loves Pizza Hut and would we like to try that in China? We said fine! Pizza Hut in China is far more "upscale." The waitresses wear skirts and nylons and heels. They serve pizza (tastes the same!), as well as seafood and specialty drinks and desserts. The pizza we ordered was listed as "American Style" which was pan with pepperoni. They also offered pizza with lamb or tuna and assorted Asian vegetables. Very interesting!

Laney had her first french fries yesterday. I was a tad miffed when Troy offered her one (thought it might be too much for her little tummy), but she absolutely gobbled it up! She had 4 more...two in each hand, mashing them happily and grinning. I think she and Landry will have lots in common. LOL!

Tomorrow is our last full day in Nanning. I can honestly say we will miss this city very much.

Free Day (photos)

Laney in her pajamas... all ready for bed

Looking around for Daddy....

Laney at the breakfast table. She loves to kick her feet into the air!

Mommy holding Laney in her carrier...she loves to be carried like this.

Smiling girl!

A few more notes on the day....

It's 4:30 in the morning here in China and I'm awake and thought I'd post a few more notes about yesterday. I generally post my blogs at night, after Laney is in bed, so they are available bright and early for you in the morning. Actually, I am not posting them myself, I am just writing them and gathering photos. My friend, Katie, kindly offered to help me update my blog each day. In certain areas of China, the government blocks Blogger and other blog-generating websites. But Katie graciously checks in each morning, uploads the pictures and adds my copy so that you can all stay with us on this journey in one convenient place. Thank you Katie!

I can, however, read your comments. Those come to us via email, so rest assured we are treasuring all of your words, encouragement, congratulations and feedback. It's wonderful to hear from friends.

Someone mentioned in a comment yesterday that she thought the use of umbrellas for sun was funny. Yes, we noticed it immediately upon arrival as well. Not as much in Hong Kong, but certainly here in Nanning...everyone has an umbrella! They use them to provide shade and sun protection. They tilt them as large buses and trucks go by to block some of the dust & fumes. And, of course, they use them whenever showers pop up. It is a multi-functional device. We, like most of our friends, wear sunglasses constantly and that is something that makes us stick out here. We don't see anyone with sunglasses on...even the young people don't really wear them.

I added a picture below of our guide holding an umbrella to shade Troy. He insisted on doing this for the first several minutes we were out of the bus, and finally Troy said, "Michael, this is silly. Your arm is going to go numb trying to hold the umbrella up so high." We all laughed pretty hard. Michael held his own, and Troy held one over he and I.

We were able to call home the day we received Laney, for just a few minutes. And then we called home again the next night and talked for almost 40 minutes. It was wonderful to hear our children's voices! Even Landry got on a couple of times and talked to each of us. They sound like they're having a good time, but they miss us. Oh how we miss them! My parents are doing an exceptional job taking care of them each day and keeping them busy and happy. Thank you Mom & Dad!! Adopting a baby from China takes some work...and certainly those waiting at home are a part of that work. We are so thankful we can miss our children, but not worry about them.

A few other funny notes. We were trying to organize laundry yesterday. Michael had his laundry guy to come and do a load for us two days ago, but then I had more baby things that needed to be washed...including my mei tai carrier (which Laney LOVES to ride in). I couldn't decide if I wanted to ask Michael to call the man again, or just have the hotel do it. I had all the things gathered up in the laundry bag, and had the tag filled out, but then Troy decided we should just go with the guy we used last time. I agreed and set the bag under our suitcase stand in the corner. We left for lunch. According to the hotel guide, if you have laundry you're supposed to hang the bag outside your room door. When we got back from our meal, I looked around for the bag to transfer it into a regular satchel for the laundry guy. No bag to be seen! We're searching everywhere. I guess the maid saw the bag and thought we forgot to set it out. It had been whisked off. A few minutes later, the laundry guy shows up and knocks on our door and we're scrambling around trying to find any dirty clothes to give him, so he won't think we're crazy. LOL! Now, we every item of clothing, baby blanket, etc that we brought is officially clean again.

It's almost 5 now. I'm going to go and hop in the shower and make up Laney's morning bottle (I make it with boiled water so it has to cool for a bit) and make a thermos of formula as well. (Laurie W, we love the red thermos! Thank you for sharing my friend! We've used it every day!)

I'll post again tonight with more stories of the day brings...Peace to each of you.

Here is our guide Michael, holding an umbrella for Troy.

This little boy is the one we met with the bad head wound and very burned, infected-looking legs. He completely stole my heart. I askedthe guide to ask his family what happened to him. They said it wasjust an accident. I told Troy we should have brought medicine andbandages, not just candy.

A visit to YiLing village...

Today was considered a "free day" for us on our schedule. At this point, we're really just hanging out in Nanning until Laney's passport is complete. We'll leave on Saturday, so for the rest of the week we have time to ourselves. Our guide, Michael, is wonderful and he gave us a list of optional tours we could choose if we wanted things to do. Things like museums, the zoo, a local temple/pagoda, etc. We decided we would really like to spend some time in a more rural section of Guangxi.

YiLing village is located about 30 kilometers from Nanning. We had breakfast at the hotel and then our driver picked us up and we all went to the village. The drive was beautiful...lush fields of rice and crops, with a backdrop of towering, jagged limestone hills. When we arrived at the village, it was quickly apparent that this was a far more rural and poor region. The local people are of the Zhuang minority (we are fairly certain Laney is Zhuang...) and they are primarily farmers. Michael said, "If Laney were to have remained in China, this would have been her life more than likely...far harder and more burden-laden than she will experience as an American citizen." Indeed, everywhere we looked women were tending the fields, carrying huge barrels of water (balanced on their shoulders by a long piece of wood), washing clothes on the rocks, etc. We walked through the village and the children came running...from everywhere! Mostly boys, but a few girls as well. We had brought a lot of candy and they were all so sweet and excited to get a piece. They all wanted to pat Laney and say hello. She enjoyed watching them. We also brought gifts for the elderly people as well. I had gathered up all the extra shampoos/conditioners/lotions and soaps the hotel has given us and we gave those away. They seemed pleased and wanted to hold my hand and kept talking to me in their local dialect. Our guide doesn't speak it, but then they would launch into Mandarin and he could interpret.

It was beautiful to see the children laughing and playing games, but the life here is hard. We saw very filthy conditions...human excrement near food areas, chemical sprayers from the fields being washed out in the community well, one little boy with a terrible gash on his head and burns on his legs and no apparent ointment or medical treatment. It was hard to see, but also good. More than once, Troy and I looked at each other, silently understanding that we will come back. This place has given us our daughter, but we will work hard to give back as well. Our family is now knit to China in a deep way. There is no way to see this place and the beauty that is here, and not want to help the people who are in need.

I became overwhelmed and was nearly in tears as we stood by some statuary near the center of the village ("town square") and the children began singing for us. Their voices were so lovely!

On a funny note, I was terribly amused at one point during the visit. We had been talking to as many people as we could (via our interpreter) and taking video and pictures. There was a group of women (wearing the traditional pointed, straw hats) washing their clothes by the river. Suddenly I noticed one of them take a cell phone out of her pocket. She was smiling and pointing it at Troy & I...as she was snapping our picture! It cracked me up. What a funny moment.

The day was fascinating, but the weather is very hot and humid and when we returned to the hotel, Laney was tired and ready for a nap ~ as were we! We all took it easy this afternoon and then had an early dinner.

After our meal, we popped outside and noticed the temperature had dropped some. The humidity was still very high (note: Nanning is almost exactly the same longitude & latitude as Cuba...hot and humid almost all year long), but we decided to go for along walk through the park and around the lake. If I haven't already mentioned it, I will now. Everyone stares at us here. And I do mean everywhere. Troy has nearly caused three bicycle accidents already. At 6'5", blond hair (shaved short) and his black sunglasses, he definitely stands out. We've had people ask us if he is a basketball player, a movie star (that cracked us up!) or my bodyguard. How funny! And then, once they've overcome the shock of his height, their eyes shift to our faces and then Laney's Chinese face and they become all confused. It's interesting.

Tonight, we had a young couple with their little boy stop and talk to us in the park. (Side note: the one child policy is very evident here. Everywhere you look you see families with one child...almost always a boy.). The husband spoke excellent English and was excited to talk with us. He said, "We have never seen you at the park before. Do you live around here?" We thought that was pretty funny! We said no, that we are from the U.S. He pointed to Laney and said, "Who does she belong to?" We explained that we were adopting her. He asked where she was from and we told him Guiping. He looked confused and said, "How can you adopt her?" We said, "Well, she has no parents." The man and his wife started nodding and said, "Oh orphan." Yes, we said. Then he continued, "How would you ever find out about one little orphan girl in Guiping when you're all the way in Missouri?"

It suddenly dawned on us that many people here, even the educated and middle-class, do not really understand what is going on in their own country with the international adoption program. They have no idea that these children are not all living in orphanages their entire lives...that some, a small percentage but still a segment, are leaving China and joining forever families all over the world. We explained to the couple that we hired an agency. They immediately asked us, "Do you have children of your own already?" We said yes, we have three. They were stunned. "What a large family! Why do you want to add a Chinese baby?" they asked. We tried to explain that we love China and have extra love in our hearts for more children, and we want to provide that love to Laney...who would have been left here alone otherwise. They understood...I think, but they still thought it was extraordinary ~ as though they had never thought of this happening before. It was all very interesting to us. We said goodbye and walked back to the hotel.

Laney is asleep now in her crib. She continues to amaze us with how well she is doing. She had one crying jag this afternoon, but I just let her grieve and held her and hugged her tightly. Then she perked up and was back to smiling. She is definitely more attached to me at the moment, but she loves to have Daddy swing her in the air and carry her around. We can't wait for her to meet her new siblings. She is going to have so much fun playing with them. We've taken TONS of video, but also a few small video clips that we're working on uploading to a page we can link here to the blog. Check back tomorrow and we may have that solved. I so want you all to hear Laney's laugh. It's adorable.

Here are a few pictures from our day in YiLing and after. Tomorrow we have an easy day planned, but do have a date with our guide for shopping at a local department store and Pizza Hut for lunch. The Pizza Hut was actually his idea. He loves it. Isn't that funny? (Smile)

A visit to YiLing village...(pictures)

Michael, our guide
YiLing Village

Adoption Day!

Today, August 28th, our daughter Laney Kate Rao Schoeppner officially joined our forever family. She is now part of our wild and wacky group. (smile) We are thrilled beyond belief!

Last night, her first night with us, she fell asleep in my arms and I laid her in bed. She slept soundly through the night and this morning, when Troy and I woke up (around 6:30) we quietly crept over to her crib. We couldn't hear anything, so we assumed she was still asleep. When we peeked in, she was staring wide-eyed up at us, totally awake and then started grinning. It was adorable!! She has the most adorable dimples.

We met our guide around 9:00 this morning and drove to more government offices. We met her nanny & orphanage director again and said hello. I was nervous about her seeing them again...worried that the bonding we've begun might be set back. The nanny came over and started saying, "Yu Yu" loudly and smiling and holding out her arms. Laney just stared at her and then turned her head and held on to me. The nanny was almost in tears and I felt badly for her...but so thankful that my girl feels safe in my arms. She was obviously loved at the SWI, but I think she realizes she has better deal with a real mommy & daddy.

We were interviewed twice and asked the same sets of questions. Troy and I both were choking back tears as we answered things like, "Do you promise to never abandon this child? Do you promise to never abuse her? Do you promise to care for her and love her for always?" It was a powerful moment. We apparently answered all of the questions correctly, because a few minutes later there was a lot smiling and shaking of hands and we were congratulated.

Then we put our red thumb prints on a stack of documents and her red footprint on one document and it was complete! One little girl walked into a room an orphan yesterday and today, she was happily carried out in the arms of her mommy & daddy.

We ate lunch, had our laundry done (1 huge load, washed, dried, expertly folded and individually wrapped...all for about $14US!) and then hit the local Wal-Mart. I didn''t like Wal-Mart any better in China than I do in the US, but it was an experience. Two stories of insanity and the same weird smiley-face bags, but we were able to get more baby food and some baby spoons so it was all good. The cab rides here are so much fun! Troy and I are just cracking up at the traffic. It seems insane, but they have a system and we don't feel like we're in TOO much danger. I can tell Troy is dying to rent or borrow a car and try his hand at it, but I'm not letting him.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Enjoy!

Adoption Day Photos!

Laney Kate Rao

Guiping SWI director(lady next to me) and Laney's nanny(on the end). This picture is from Gotcha Day.


Not thrilled with bathtime....

Getting dressed after bath...

Much happier now that that's all over with....

Sitting with Mama, waiting for our adoption day interviews...

Mama and Laney

Laney is here! (pics)

Waiting for Laney...nervous

The room where we waited

Troy holding his girl!



Laney walking around in the play room

Falling asleep in mama's arms

Laney

Carrie, she loves her blankie!

Laney playing with her stacking cups.

Mama & Laney

3 of the 6 of us...we need our other 3 treasures and we'll be complete!

Daddy & his girl.

Laney is here!

Well friends, we have our girl! At 4:00pm (things were running a bit behind) our beautiful gift walked (yes I said walked!) into our arms. She is simply adorable. So tiny (and when we say tiny, we mean really tiny!), so sweet, so happy. She has been smiling and calm ever since she has been with us. She easily goes from me to Troy and back again...loves to play with her toys and rattles and has already had two bottles and a small dish of rice & congee (rice porridge). The banana Gerber puffs are also a huge hit!

But I'm getting ahead of myself...let me back up.

The day began with a late breakfast and some frantic last minute room organization. I was determined to have everything unpacked and situated before we left for Laney. I knew I would be so consumed with staring at her and taking care of her when we got back, I didn't want to be looking around for paperwork or bottles.

We met our guide, Michael, in the lobby at 3:00pm. He said that even though many of the people we've encountered in Nanning speak Mandarin, that Laney is from a small city 4 hours to the west and will be more familiar with Catonese. So, there in the bar at the hotel, we had a mini-impromptu Cantonese lesson. We learned Mommy, Daddy, I love you, Come here, No, Sweet girl, etc. It was fun and he said we did well. I think perhaps he was just being encouraging. (Smile)

At 3:15 we left to drive to the Lottery Hotel. This is a hotel nearby which also has many government offices in the 2nd-4th floors. We rode the elevator to the 4th floor and were told to wait in a room with several other couples. We were all single-family groups, so we were placed in one large group. One couple was from Australia, two were from Sweden, 1 family was from Great Britain and then we were there as well. I cannot explain to you the tension and nerves and anticipation in that room (Ceremonial Hall). I've never experienced emotional energy like that..it was literally consuming the room and every one in it. We were all just staring at each other...clutching the small pieces of paper that matched us to our baby. We were told "When the babies come in, wait until your name is called. Your baby will be placed in your arms, hand your paper back to the official."

We waited. 3:30 came and went. 4:00pm rolled around. Michael came back in and said, "It shouldn't be too much longer." Apparently three high-ranking government officials (not sure who!) were there today...to see the "adoption process." Some government employee was taking video of all of us to use in a government instructional documentary. I guess we'll be famous...somewhere. Anyway, for us, it was just sort of a terrible additional time spent waiting.

Then, suddenly we heard Michael's voice saying, "There's Baba (daddy) and Mama." We turned and he was walking in...holding Laney's hand. She was grinning up at us. I ran over and knelt down and she walked right into my arms! I was crying. Troy was crying (and running the video camera). I was kissing her and whispering to her and then she held out her arms and went to Troy right away too. We were so consumed in the moment and suddenly the orphanage director came in and said, "Not yet." And took her away. Michael said, "It will only be a few more minutes I promise. I was just tired of waiting and since I was playing with her in the hall, I decided to let her walk where she wanted to walk. I guess she wanted to walk right in here!" He winked when he said it. It was so sweet of him to help our wait come to an end, but it was hard to see her leave again.

But, just a few minutes later they were calling our name "officially" this time and we were escorted into another room (Interview Room #1...whatever that means) and we got her in our arms...for good. She was so cheerful and content. She kept looking around, playing with the small toy we had brought for her, and eating the Gerber puffs. We were able to meet her nanny and the orphanage director. They both seemed very kind and were sweet with her. They said, "She is a great eater...we do not know why she is so tiny." We answered, "If she weren't so tiny, we may not have had a match! She would have gone to a different family." This precious petite gift was definitely meant to be ours!

We spent some more time with them in the play area and then got in the private car and drove back to the hotel. We left, the parents of three amazing kids, and we returned, the parents of four amazing kids. It was/is a miracle. It still seems surreal. In so many ways, today felt like the day each of our children were born. It was exhilarating and joyful and nerve-wracking and beautiful. The best of days!

To have started this journey with just one small step of faith...a $150 check, an application and a hunch that this is what God wanted for our family. That was it! We had no idea what path were were starting down. We were just compelled and God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. He has carefully and lovingly set our feet in just the right places and just the right times and tenderly brought us to our new treasure -- Laney Kate Rao Schoeppner.

Right now she is asleep in her crib. She fell asleep in my arms in her mei tai carrier (Thank you K!) and now she is away in dreamland. I cannot wait to see what she is like tomorrow. And I cannot wait for her to meet her super cool sisters and big brother. They're going to love her! She is full of spunk and will fit right in.

Troy and I are going to head off to bed now too. It has been a spectacular day.

Pictures from our arrival in Nanning, Guangxi

In Hong Kong, with our wonderful CCAI guide JoAnn.

Soyaki Duck Tongue anyone?

Our airplane to Nanning...CZ 3090

Just after takeoff...so happy to be just 24 hours from Laney!

First glimpses of Guangxi. It is incredibly lush & green.

Our Lucy & Ricky beds. Interesting.

Beautiful view from our hotel window. (Wharton International Hotel)

Our daughter's crib...ready and waiting!

Hello from Nanning, Guangxi!

We've finally arrived in our daughter's province. She is from Guiping (about 3.5 hours to the west), but she will be brought here to us tomorrow! We will meet our daughter and hold in her our arms around 3:30. We can't wait! But I'm jumping ahead of myself. Let me back up.

We had a quiet morning in Hong Kong. We had another delicious breakfast at the hotel and then packed up. Our CCAI guide, JoAnn, met us in the lobby at 11AM. She is beautiful and kind - so helpful in every way. We found out that she has served CCAI families since the beginning of our agency. Fifteen years! And she is Lily Zhong's cousin. :) (Lily & Josh Zhong founded the agency).

Again, CCAI had a private car waiting and we were whisked away to the airport. We filled out all of our travel paperwork and got our boarding passes. We said goodbye to JoAnn and went through the gates. We had about an hour before we had to be at our gate. We spent the time window shopping (Hong Kong's airport is fabulous!!) and had a great lunch at one of the restaurants.

Then we went to our gate. We waited with the other passengers and then rode in a small bus/tram out to the plane. We very much enjoyed this short flight on China Southern. The plane was brand new. The stewards were dressed in smart, immaculate, perfectly-matched outfits (very 50's looking...with the neck scarves and head bands, stockings & heels). They had very interesting light jazz/techno music playing in the background, and little flip-down screens that showed wordless comedy blooper reels. Funny! We also had complimentary cocktails...even in economy. Now that is something all airlines should encourage!

Our first glimpses of Guangxi were breathtaking. This is truly a stunning area of China. You can't imagine how vibrantly green it is...tropical and lush. Perfectly terraced farm lands, rising mountains and palm trees everywhere. We were in awe!

When we landed we moved quickly through customs and were met by our next CCAI guide, Michael. He is bubbly and personable and giggles a lot...but in a nice way. He proved extremely helpful in the first few minutes. He provided us with so much great information about our hotel, the area, a list common questions/destinations (translated into Catonese) so we can show them to taxi drivers and locals, a current update on Laney and her schedule, etc. I know he will be great guide for the next week! He helped us check-in, walked us to our room and we'll meet him again in the morning to do some shopping. He will help us find Laney's brand of formula, rice cereal, etc.

And that brings me to the girl of the hour -- LANEY! Tomorrow is Gotcha Day. We meet her at 3:30pm. Michael kept saying, "Just bring your smiles, your hugs and your cameras." Sounds good to me!

We are including some pictures of today. We'll be posting again tomorrow morning and then after we get Laney! (Can I use any more exclamation points? LOL!!)

Much love to all of you. Thank you for your emails and comments. It is so sweet to know we have such good friends and sweet family members following our journey with such interest. We are overwhelmed with awe, joy and gratitude at where God has brought us and what tomorrow will bring.

We leave for Nanning in an hour...

We have really enjoyed Hong Kong. I'm glad we booked an extra night here at the end of our trip. We'll look forward to coming back. But for now, it's all about Guangxi and Laney! Tomorrow is Gotcha Day. We are nervous, but filled with joy.

We just finished breakfast and grabbed Starbucks. The coffee tastes exactly the same, but we haven't found cream. I drink my coffee/espresso straight up, so it doesn't matter to me, but Troy is learning to enjoy soy milk. The pastry case is even very similar, but we saw Beef Curry Puffs and Mushroom/Leek pies for sale as well. Interesting!

I must go and finish organizing our carry-on stuff. Next post ~ Guangxi!

A few more pictures of the day...

A beautiful Henry Moore sculpture near our hotel.

A view from Victoria Peak. It's hazy, but you can still see the vast number of towering apartment buildings. Space is at a premium here and the prices reflect that. Average apartment size? 850 sq feet. Average montly rent? $9,000 (USD!).

The harbor~ as dusk falls.