The Long & Winding Road to Henan

We received our itinerary and final travel details over the weekend.  Yes, you are reading this correctly, it's a few short days before we hop on a plane.  Many families have a few weeks to make their arrangements, but our timeline is somewhat shorter because of the Chinese New Year (CNY).  CNY is a is celebration of the lunar new year and lasts over a week.  Happy Year of the Tiger everyone!  Since CNY is one of the largest holidays in China many offices close throughout the country from shortly before the holiday on February 14th through this past Monday.

Needless to say it's been a busy few days desperately trying to get ready.  So here is what our trip looks like.

We leave for Beijing bright and early tomorrow morning at 6 AM and arrive in China the next day at 3 in the afternoon.  This is easily the longest flight we have ever been on.  I've warned Jerry that if he even attempts to use my armrest,  I will ask to have him removed, a la Kevin Smith!

We will be in Beijing for about three days and are hoping to visit the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City among other things.  These three days are set up to learn a little about Chinese culture and history and to recover from your jet lag before meeting your child.

On the 28th we fly to Zhengzhou (pronounced Jung-Jo) in Henan province,  just under 2 hours by plane.        Henan is the most populous province in China with over 100 million people.  It is known as  China's breadbasket because of it's agricultural history and on a cool side note is home to the Shaolin Temple, birthplace of Kung Fu.  According to our agency Henan is a late comer to international adoption placing very few children for adoption until recently.

On 3/1 we meet Liam and sign a guardianship agreement and the adoption will be finalized the next day after a "get to know you" period.  We will stay in Zhengzhou through 3/5 completing paperwork and receiving Liam's passport.  We will also travel to Jiaozuo, the city Liam is from and are hoping to get approval to visit his orphanage, specifically Eagles Wings, the foster care home he has lived in most of his life.

On 3/5 we fly to Guangzhou, a city near Hong Kong on the South China Sea, for the final leg of our trip.  More on Eagles Wings and Guangzhou later.  Back to packing!