Well, just when you think you have everything set, the Chongqing Civil Affairs office decides they want to throw us a curve. Like we've said to many of you, we're not going to believe that Samantha is actually ours until we have her in our arms.
So, at the last minute, the Civil Affairs office decides that they are going to close their office on June 18 and June 19 for their 10 year anniversary. This just happens to be the days that we are scheduled to receive Samantha and complete our paperwork. Instead, they were rescheduling us to June 20. Not being too pleased with the last minute change, Children's Bridge pushed back and requested that they come up with an alternative that would be more agreeable to the families. To everyone's surprise, the Civil Affairs office has approved our visit to the SWI in Qianjiang where Samantha has been living. Although this means a 4.5 hour drive from Chongqing to Qianjiang, this means that we will actually get to visit the orphanage and meet the care givers there. An added bonus we are now hoping for is the opportunity to meet the people from her foster home. We'll then spend the night in Qianjiang and return to Chongqing on June 19. We will still need to go into the Civil Affairs office on June 20 to finalize the paperwork. The only other change to our itinerary is that we no longer tour the city and E Ling Park - we think it's a good trade.
June 13 - Depart for Beijing
June 14 - Arrive in Beijing
June 15 - Acclimation Day
June 16 - Acclimation Day (ok...so there may be some shopping)
June 17 - Travel to Chongqing
June 18 - Travel to Qianjiang - visit orphanage and receive Samantha
June 19 - Travel to Chongqing
June 20 - Civil Affairs Office - adoption registration, notarization, passport
June 21 - Off day - tours: Chongqing Zoo (pandas) and shopping
June 22 - Pick up passport, travel back to Beijing
June 23 - Off day - have Samantha's visa photo taken
June 24 - Off day - tours: Great Wall
June 25 - Samantha medical, Canadian Embassy (visa appointment)
June 26 - Off day - tours: Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City
June 27 - Off day - tours: Hutong, group Beijing Duck dinner
June 28 - Pick up Samantha's visa
June 29 - Travel home
One last thing, due to a mix-up in China our final piece of paperwork - the Notice of Coming - was not couriered out in time. As a result one of the other families traveling at a later date will bring it to us in China.
This will be over when it's over, and no sooner.
"When a child is born, invisible red threads reach out from the child's spirit and connect to all important people who will enter the child's life. As the child grows, the threads shorten, bringing them closer to those people who are destined to be together"..... This is our journey to find the other end of the red thread.