We left Nanning and Guangxi Province yesterday for the next leg in our journey - Guangzhou. Our last few days in Nanning were uneventful, though we did spend some time touring the local cultural museum, parks and a local Buddhist temple.
The thing that struck me the most, however, was just the people. Not for the differences, but for the similarities. In fairness, most of the folks we were exposed to were decidedly middle class. Our hotel was situated very close to the major retail districts of Nanning and there were many people visiting the area because of the annual Qing Ming holiday (known to some as Grave Sweeping Day). It was clear many were in town to shop. China's middle class is becoming more and more consumer oriented and it's growing fast. They have their department stores, shopping malls, Super Wallmarts, celebrity endorsements, and kids racing down grocery store aisles just like we do. The Chinese middle class may not be as large or as accessible to all segments of society as ours is, but even that is changing.
Nanning, however, is behind us now. As we left, Karen started to cry because she realized that Grace was leaving her birth place possibly never to return. I think we'll come back when Grace is older, though. Grace handled it better - only really getting upset as we started to land and the cabin pressure changed. A bottle helped some. Her big challenge came later when she awoke from her nap and was in (once again) another strange place. It wasn't quite so bad this time, but it was a shock for her - one she'll have to repeat just one more time.
Guangzhou is now ahead of us. This is where we will complete the visa process that will allow Grace to enter the US as a legal immigrant, and then immediately become a citizen as soon as we step of the plane in LA. All of this is just a formality - forms to be filled out, documents to be verified. Grace is ours now, legally and emotionally. However, it does take several days, so here we are for the next week.
Guangzhou is a much larger and more cosmopolitan place than Nanning. Life in Nanning seems quiet by comparison. Guangzhou is also the place where every adoptive parent must come in order to complete the same process we're working through. There were 10 families in Nanning, but here it's impossible to count. Every family, no matter what their agency, comes here.
There must be over 100 families here all adopting children of various ages. Most of them are staying in the same place - the White Swan Hotel. It's a very nice hotel if a little dated, but it's particularly famous in the adoption community. Of the thousands of adoptive families that have come to China from the USA in the past 15 years, I would not be suprised if 2/3 of them came through the White Swan... people some times refer to it as the White Stork.
As the focal point for all Chinese adoptions by Americans, Guangzhou has developed a small cottage industry serving the needs of adoptive families. There is a wide variety of baby merchandise, family services, western restaurants, etc, all here to serve the needs of adoptive families. In fairness, this would be a destination whether or not Chinese adoptions were so popular. Guangzhou is a principal city for trade and commerce and hosts a number of key trade and industry shows each year. However, the popularity of Chinese adoption and the fact that Guangzhou is the only US Consulate which processes immigration visas have had an obvious impact on the character of this part of the city.
We're here for 5 days - we did our immigration paperwork today and have a physical for Grace this afternoon. Then it's just a short wait while the consulate issues her Visa. Once that's done, it's home... and one more big adjustment for Grace.
