Day 12 - U.S. Consulate Appointment

Today was the big day!  Today we had our U.S. Consulate appointment.  It is actually pretty anti-climatic for such a big event in the process.  There are no cameras allowed, but we took a picture of Hannah in her red, white and blue before we departed.  

Upon arrival at the Consulate, we were able to bypass the LONG line and enter via the U.S. citizen entrance.  Then, we went through security and went to the second floor.  We took a number an waited to be called.  When we took our oath, we huddled around the officer behind a glass window...all families at one time.  Then, we waited our turn and answered a few questions for the officer.  Now, we wait for Hannah's visa to be issued.

We returned to the hotel for lunch and then headed to the pool.  Today was a beautiful day with no rain and little humidity.  Later in the afternoon, Deanna headed to the exit meeting with our agency group while Hannah napped.

This evening started with a group photo of the 20 families that are here with our adoption agency.  We followed that with a taste of home...Papa John's Pizza!  It tasted pretty darn good after this long in China.  We ate our pizza in the courtyard of our hotel and then snapped some pictures of Hannah while she was dressed in her silks.

We walked to the other park that is nearby our hotel, Liu Hua Hu Park.  It was beautiful!  Banyan trees, palm trees, lakes, water lilies and more!  Evening exercisers were in full force.  We saw a group of speed walkers, many joggers and of course the "China Sports Lottery."  This is the group workout area.  There was also table tennis, badminton and karaoke.  It is always fun to observe the traditions of the Chinese culture.

We stopped by the shops nearby our hotel to end the evening.