A Different Kind of Emotional Day

Today, we continued the process necessary to finalize our adoption of Zhen here in Harbin. (Our guide told us that families usually spend about a week here to get everything done, so everyone is having to work extra hard to get our paperwork finished in just a few days.)

After a breakfast buffet here at the Hotel that was far more Asian and much less "western" than what we usually see on these trips - not bad, just different - we headed back to the Civil Affairs Office. The number of papers we have to sign seems to rise each time we are here in China and this time was no exception. Cathy and I sat in the Head of Adoption Affairs' office for what seemed like an hour, answering questions (we knew what they were going to ask and how we were going to answer - it's all very "by the book") and completing / signing forms.(The girls were kept busy in the conference room with candy, fruit and "20 questions".)




Finally, we were done with our part and they brought Zhen back in to sign a form stating that she did indeed want to be adopted by us (that was definitely a new part of the process for us). She seemed a little sad to be doing that in front of (and with a little assistance from) the director of her orphanage and said it would make her sad to leave everyone she knew, but she wrote what was needed in Chinese characters. The director gave us a small album of pictures of Zhen that we had not seen, and she gave Zhen a jade tiger (her Chinese zodiac sign) necklace. Then, we all moved to the conference room so that all the women from the orphanage could say their goodbyes. And that's when our strong little girl finally broke down (as well as her new father).




She clung to the director and sobbed for quite a while, but finally all the women from the orphanage were able to convince her to "be brave" and they were able to leave. She was able to manage a weak smile for a picture with her sisters, but after less than a whole day with her, it was easy to notice the difference in her mood.




We spent the afternoon trying to find Victoria some clothes since we guessed wrong about her size and most of the stuff we brought with us is too small. We visited a nearby Walmart and found her a suitcase, but no clothes (most of the clothes in a Springfield Walmart seem to be made in China, but none of those seemed to be available here).



A department store had more of a selection, if you are in the market for $75 sweatshirts. So, we are still looking for clothes.

Everywhere we went today, Victoria wanted to hold Marissa's hand. It's neat to see that bonding going on.

By the end of the day, we had our energetic, happy Victoria back. She has just finished a bath and had to show me how beautiful her hair looked (and how great it smelled :-) We knew today would be hard for her, but we also know how important it is for her to have her own family, and in the long run the sadness of today will be worth it for the better future days we will work to give her.


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