I'm famous in China!

Before I get to part 2 of the saga, I must tell you what happened today.  I'm telling you events a little out of order, but I'm sure that you will catch up.

Well, yes we have number 2 daughter, more on that later.  Well, we walked into the Civil Affairs office for daughter #2's paperwork to get her officially adopted, and the woman in charge looked at me and said,   "I know you."  Well I have had that a lot of that said over the years, either they think I'm Meryl Streep or, that blonde actress in "Bothers & Sisters".  So I assumed that.  She said, "Your picture is on the largest internet site and in the newspapers, you're looking for the parents for your older daughter, right?"  Yes, that's right.  Apparently the interview I did with a reporter here has hit every site and newspaper in China.  They googled it to show me, and many different sites came up with the story!.

Who would have guessed that I would walk into the Zhengzhou Civil Affairs office and be recognized because I was in the news!?  Small world.

Here is one of the sites:

Beijing-lawyers.blog.sohu.com/143602901.html

OK, Part 2.  We got to the airport to check in.  We hand in our passports and I say we're getting my daughter's passport sent to us because we needed to leave before it was ready because we needed to fly out to adopt another daughter.  She looked at me, I pulled out the Certificate of adoption in the red plastic holder and handed it to them.  She looked at, called someone over, who in turn called a supervisor over who in turn called someone in a uniform over.  Of course in between getting each new person, there was a 5-10 minute discussion.  They then said, you have to go to the police and get a picture ID.  I said, "No, she is my daughter, she is now part of an American family, and that certificate should be enough."  More discussion, for 8 minutes.  At this time, my heart started to sink, I felt that this was about to become an enormous issue.  I got my phone out and dialed my facilitator/guide.  I explained to him, he said the certificate has always been accepted in the past, so I handed the phone over to the airline people  so he could speak with them and explain.  A heated exchange took place and the phone was handed back to me, and he said, go to security and get a photo ID, apparently they've just changed the rule over night, and they no longer accept the certificate, it has to be a passport or ID card.

So, I tell my husband, I look at my daughter and signal her to come with me. (She is deaf and she has no idea what's going on, but by the look on my face she must have know something was wrong.)The supervisor led us at mach speed down hallways, through throngs of people and luggage, and around corners.  We arrive at security and she curtly signals us to stay outside the office.  There's a line.  So she seeks out high level officers and proceeds to speak with them for about 10 minutes. Mean while I look at my daughter's face and it is clouding up. I look up in my dictionary and showed her the word 'protect' and signed, "Mama will protect you."  She slowly nodded.  I felt my heart sink, this was not going well, the departure time was creeping closer, and I had no idea where my husband and 3 other children were and what they've been told.

The supervisor rapidly walks away from the security police and says, "No, they won't give you an ID."  I looked at her flabbergasted and said,"I am not leaving my daughter behind, or my family and we MUST get this flight, another adoption is counting on it!"  She told me to call my guide again, I did and handed her the phone.  She spoke a few words, gave me the phone, which was already disconnected, and took off like a bullet in another direction.  I grabbed my daughter's hand and pulled her along.  She was not doing well, her face had the strangest look on it.  Again we're whipping around corners, dodging people. 

Finally we stop in front of a windowed office.  I see it's a place to do copies, FAX, & make phone calls.  She rapid fires Chinese to the person behind the counter then asks me to call my guide again, (and from that point on she keeps my phone and calls him herself, AND answers my phone).  I start to run through my mind possible scenarios that are occurring since no one at this point has bothered to fill me in.  By now an hour has passed since we walked up to the counter to check in.  I glance over to see how my daughter is doing and there's tears pouring down her cheeks.  I rush up to her and hold her.  What could she be thinking?  It's all her fault?, They're going to send me back to the orphanage?, I'll never be adopted?, I'm scared?  What ever it was made me angry.  I looked up another word in my dictionary and signed, "Mama will not leave you."  Up to that point I had not said much, followed along and was quite polite and cooperative.  Now my daughter was upset, and I'm angry, NOBODY upsets one of my children and gets away with it!

She's on MY phone talking, I step in front of her about 6 inches from her face and give her a look she can't ignore. She gets off the phone and finally tells me what's happening.  MY guide is trying to get hold of the Orphanage Director to FAX a copy of her registration card.  Only that will get her a picture ID and only a picture ID will get her on the plane.  We wait and wait, one hour and a half has passed at that point.  I ask her has anyone told my family what is happening?  She said yes.  Mean while I give my daughter another hug and hold her close.  The supervisor motions me to again follow her.  A couple of yards away, she motions us into the airlines VIP area to sit down.  Then someone brings my family there as well.  I look at the time, we are not going to make the flight.  I go to the supervisor and say that I want my luggage off the plane and brought to me now!

As my family is brought in I tell them  what's happening, I tell my twins to give their sister a hug because she is scared.  The moment one of them put their arms around her she burst into sobs.  My heart was breaking.  We've now been at the airport for two an  a half hours.

Finally the FAX come through. I asked the supervisor when is the next flight that we can get on?  She checked.  No available flights on any airlines until tomorrow at 3:00.  I had my guide call his boss for her to try....she found nothing.  Now, I feel so much is falling apart.  If we can't get to Zhengzhou, then we will have only ONE day to do all the adoption papers!  And we can't stay later because we have the TB tests in Guangzhou to do.  My mind is racing, what is my plan of action to circumvent disaster?  Then my guide calls and says since all he flights are booked, I should take the train.  I said, "Are you serious?  I have 6 people and 7 pieces of luggage and 3 of them are very heavy.  It is physically impossible for us to take a train."  He said "Well then, you won't be able to adopt your other daughter then, you won't get there in time and you have to keep your CA."  I exploded, "Don't be ridiculous that's a lot of rubbish.  You know that isn't true.  Now find a solution for me now!  You should have known that I needed something for in order to get on the plane!"  

My daughter is still upset, it's getting late, the girls are hungry, and I'm getting a headache.  He kept insisting I should take the train.  I told him that I have travelled around Europe by train and I know what is involved and it would be impossible for us to manage the luggage, let alone find a place for it and us. (I found out later it would have been a 10 hour plus train ride).  

Then the supervisor came up, and I said, OK, we will just sleep here in the VIP area, because we have no place to go, so I think you need to really see if there is a solution that you haven't looked at yet.  She said that we couldn't sleep there because the room closes at 10:00.  She said she was sorry and couldn't do any more...

So I started calling all the cell numbers for the adoption agency's President, Managers, etc.  The first two didn't answer.  It was 5:00 am, but you would think id they gave out their numbers for emergencies they at least would keep their phones handy.  The third try I reached someone, and they said that they would handle everything including trying to hurry up the paperwork and getting my next daughter the necessary paperwork so that we wouldn't go through this again and find us a hotel.  Oh goody, I thought, now at almost 8:00 pm, we need to find a shuttle to a hotel, what hotel?  Then unpack for one night for four kids to find p.j. s and a new set of clothes for the following day.  The guide called and said he booked some rooms and the shuttle will come and pick us up.  

I then went and tried to find the supervisor to get her to book us on the 3:00 flight the next day.  SInce I didn't get her name that took about a half hour to find her.  I felt like I was on a treadmill.  My daughter had calmed down, and the other girls were tired and hungry.

So, shuttle, hotel, room, eat, bed.  Go to airport the next day.  We check in, again, but this time with the paper from the orphanage.  Everything was going fine UNTIL it came to my daughter's paperwork.  No they won't accept it!  I felt my stomach lurch, my ears started to burn, and I just said, we were told by security yesterday that this WAS acceptable!  Nope, they didn't care.  So my daughter and I were dragged back to the security office where the airline supervisor (a different one) explained the situation, again.  They talked shook their heads, mumbled, etc.  Remember yesterday they wouldn't take the adoption certificate?  I pulled it out anyhow and they looked at it.  Right I thought, I'm calling my guide, again, and get him to explain it all over again to different security people.  I handed the security people the phone, and they talked.....

I don't even know what I was feeling at this point.  I cared more for my daughter not to get upset again, so I kept signing, "everything is OK". 

Finally he got off the phone, grunted in my direction and had my daughter sit for a photo. Success!  And you know why?  Because of the adoption certificate, which didn't work the day before. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We got to Zengzhou at 7:30 pm. met my second daughter, and finished all the paperwork the next day.  I sit now in the airport ready to fly to Guangzhou.  Of course the flight was delayed 2 hours, so we'll get to the hotel around midnight.  And oh, by the way, they almost wouldn't let daughter #1 through security, because they didn't want to accept Beijing's Security's ID pass with two of their stamps and her photo.  Go figure...

My novelette is over.  Thank you for reading.