Oh The Places We'll Go

The more I try to learn about China, the more I realize I know nothing. The enormity of information is staggering, so I'll just leave my cliff notes.

China has the worlds oldest people and the longest continuous civilization. It is the third largest country in terms of area, and is the

largest in population, at over 1.2 billion people.

Some of China's inventions known around the world are: paper, compass, gunpowder, and written language (a little know fact-China also is host to the only ever recorded written language used solely by and for women). They also lay claim in history to windmills, the telescope, the calender, the animal zodiac, fermented beverages, noodles, pottery, silk, coffins, maps, toothbrushes, fireworks, kites, playing cards, golf and umbrellas. I just had to include this as well, the Chinese are the first documented people to use both the blast furnace and cupola furnace, develop metallurgy and steel production, and to use co-fusion in the creation of sword blades.

We will travel to Beijing first, which was formerly known as Peking. The Peking man fossil found here dates back 250,000 years ago. The Forbidden City was built during the Ming Dynasty. Construction began in 1406, along with that of the Temple of Heaven (shown opposite). Tiananmen Square was made in 1651. Wow, and to think the government of U.S.A. has existed for just over 200 years.

Next is a flight straight down to Guangzhou. Guangzhou is the third largest city in China, behind Shanghai and Beijing. It is also well known by the English name Canton. History dates civilization in the area of Guangzhou back to 214BC. Guangzhou is a port city on the Pearl River which is navigable to the South China Sea. The average temperature in Guangzhou during September is 87-92 degrees. The picture shows the White Swan Hotel where we will be staying for most of our trip.

Aubrey lives in Shenzhen. This onetime hilly fishing village is now a bustling city boasting China's busiest transportation system. It is located directly north of Hong Kong on the Tropic of Cancer. The average temperatures for Shenzhen in September is 88 degrees. Being on the South China Sea, Shenzhen is occasionally subjected to typhoons in late summer and autumn. I found it interesting that 20% of China's PhD's dwell in Shenzhen. The rest of the population is primarily migrant workers with little education. It is probably a safe bet that Aubrey's birth parents were part of the migrant work force looking to give her a better quality life than they could provide.

As stated before we are arriving in Beijing on the September 14, this years Autumn Moon Festival in China. During this research I found that we are leaving on China's National Day, October 1. This would be comparable to our Fourth of July. It so conveniently ties in with all the concurrent events thus far. I'm seeing another old cement mile marker, only a few miles are left.

Third Sign

What is the most incomparable, special, joyous, magical day of the year?

After switching to GWCA, I dug my feet in and began collecting all the documents necessary for a complete dossier. It took me 4 months to get everything. Birth certificates and our marriage license were originated in Ohio had to be authenticated in New York City. Everything from Indiana had to be authenticated in Chicago. There were frequently long waits before we could move on to the next part of the paper chase. Finally, in November we received approval from the United States Citizens and Immigration Services to adopt an orphan from China.

I sent the now completed dossier to GWCA. I was contacted and told our paperwork was being sent to China in the bundle leaving Dec. 17, 2006. Eight days later we were emailed that the CCAA accepted our dossier on December 25, 2006. Christmas day the most incomparable, special, joyous and magical day of the year!