Day 13 - Leaving Asia

Let the never-ending day begin.  I am so excited to get home!!!!!! (But I’m sort of dreading this day of travel ahead of us.)

Some things I’m thinking about as we leave - I’m so glad to not have to bring my own toilet paper with me anymore.  I’m glad to never see a water boiler in a hotel room again (to avoid getting the plague from the water.).  I’m excited to not have to live out of hotel rooms again.  I’m glad to get out of this yucky air.  Kyle can’t stop sneezing.  He says he is allergic to China.  No more bio hazard masks on every other person.  

In the Hong Kong airport, it is already feeling like a taste of America.  Got a ham and brie croissant at Starbucks - yum!  

I’m going home.  And if I think about it too long, I cry.  I’m so grateful for home.  America is a pretty special place.  

While it feels like the "end", it  is also a beginning of sorts.  God has known Claire since she was conceived.  He has plans for her life. She is His.  And I pray she always knows that.  That she knows her Father intimately always.  

Day 12 - Picking Up Visas, Traveling to Hong Kong

Today is the day of the beginning of our trek home.  And what a trek it is.  We get Claire’s visa today and then she is allowed to leave China.  We are all so ready. 

But first - we had a free morning.  And Claire has started going to Kyle.  Such good news!  She is laughing more and playing more by herself.  Next to me but by herself.  So good.  It is remarkable to see her progress.  When we first got her I thought she has “old lady skin” under her arms.  It’s not there any more.  We think she lost weight while she lived at the CP hospital.  She eats everything in sight now.  Everything.  And we were worried about her muscle tone when we first got her.  We actually feel the strength in her legs already.  So encouraging.  We ate breakfast at Cafe Veranda.  Again.  And lunch.  I will not miss this place at all.  Not a single thing about it.  We went downstairs early to get a picture of our entire group.  It is amazing how bonded a small group of people can be when you go through an experience like this.  The only thing that makes it easier to say goodbye to these people is that we all get to go home in the process.  

2:30 came, and we hopped on the bus to go to the consulate to pick up our visas.  We have Claire’s passport with her visa stamps!  And then we get back on the same bus headed to Hong Kong to stay in the airport hotel for a night and leave Asia via Hong Kong tomorrow. 

Yesterday I had stomach issues so I didn’t completely focus on the details for today.  I didn’t realize that we were taking two large buses to the Hong Kong/ Chinese border and then each family was getting into their own minivan and going through border patrol by themselves.  So we all get out of the big buses on the side of the road and there are 8 minivans waiting for us.  In the blink of an eye we each have our suitcases loaded into our own vans and we are off to go through customs and the border crossing.  We had to go through two separate gates.  One gate there was an agent taking each of our temperatures.  Some of our group took tylenol just as a precaution even though they didn’t have a fever.  I wanted to, but Kyle thought we would be fine.  (He said I should trust him.  I do.  I just don’t trust other people.)

We continued on to the hotel, and tonight as I type we are settled into the Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong.  We are connected to the airport, and it’s bustling.  We can see the ticket terminal from our hotel window.  We ordered room service - I thought it was terrible food, and it cost us $125.  I think Hong Kong is much more expensive than China.  (Hong Kong is actually a Chinese territory.  Interesting facts - they share a political system, but their economies are separate.  That must be incredibly confusing.)  

Our flight leaves tomorrow at 11:55, and I’ve never been more excited to get on an airplane!  (Said from the girl who can’t stand flying!)