Here is the preliminary schedule for our trip. I think this might have been translated.
Sep.16th : Arrive Beijing at 11:00
Transfer to hotel. Hu Tong Tour. (Chang’an Grand Hotel)
Sep.17th : Greatwall. Lunch.
Sep.18th : As they will do adoption at Shijiazhuang. Which take 3.5 hours by tour bus. I arrange local travel agency come to Beijing to pick them up instead of take flight.(more expensive). And BaoDing is on the way about half way there. They could stop there and see the city where their child from. I suppose they will like this.
Beijing-ShiJiazhuang by tour van. Leave around 11:00.
See BaoDing city on the half way. (but they couldn’t visit SWI because they do not allow visitors).
We will arrange a van with 8 seats. **(since it’s more expensive with van with more seats, like 25 seats). So they could think about how may luggage they will take. Hope it’s enough for them. Please tell us with this will be too small because of too much luggage (Century Hotel)
Sep.19th : Meet child, sign agreement.
Sep.20th : Adoption registration, notary and apply passport.
Sep.21st : Half day tour to ZhaoZhou Bridge.
Sep.22nd : Half day free.
Sep.23rd : Take passport in late afternoon. Should be 16:30.
So, I couldn’t arrange them go to Guangzhou this day. (there is only flight to Guangzhou everyday).
I will ask Connie arrange medical in Guagnzhou in the good way to make sure it is done before appointment.
Sep.24th : ShiJiazhuang-Guangzhou by CZ6229(13:00-15:40). (WS Hotel)
Sep.25th : River Cruise.
Sep.26th : Medical in the early morning. Visa appointment at 09:30.
Sep.27th : Take visa in the afternoon.
Sep.28th : Leave Guanghzou-Home by CZ327 at 21:00.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
The Golden Ticket...
This is a scan of our Travel Approval (TA). We received two copies of this document, it is on very fancy paper and has a raised seal. We have to take both copies with us to China, and don't get to keep one.
Tina booked our tickets yesterday. We will fly out of Seattle at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, September 14th. We will take Alaska Air to Los Angeles, then China Southern to Guangzhou, and then finally to Beijing, where we will arrive at 11:00 AM Friday, September 16. The time zone difference from here to there is 15 hours, but this still means our travel time is 27 hours. I hope that Ben's not reading this or we're going to have a problem getting him on the plane!
Tina booked our tickets yesterday. We will fly out of Seattle at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, September 14th. We will take Alaska Air to Los Angeles, then China Southern to Guangzhou, and then finally to Beijing, where we will arrive at 11:00 AM Friday, September 16. The time zone difference from here to there is 15 hours, but this still means our travel time is 27 hours. I hope that Ben's not reading this or we're going to have a problem getting him on the plane!
Monday, August 29, 2005
We Have Our Travel Dates!!!
Have you noticed that all the recent entry headers have ended with multiple exclamation marks? Apparently the posts about frustrating wait times are a thing of the past. I have a feeling that the tone of the next several entries may be that of panic!
I must say that I am very impressed with Children's House International. They have done a very good job for us. As promised, they contacted the U.S. consulate ASAP and have gotten us our consulate appointment! Here's an excerpt from the email message we received:
So there's our schedule! We leave in exactly 2 and half weeks and will have Kai on Monday, September 19th.
I think there's still some packing to do...
I wonder if we should do any baby proofing?
Probably should get those airline tickets now...
There's a billion things I'm forgetting
--better go... I promise to post again after we catch our breath (gotta remember to breath)
I must say that I am very impressed with Children's House International. They have done a very good job for us. As promised, they contacted the U.S. consulate ASAP and have gotten us our consulate appointment! Here's an excerpt from the email message we received:
From: Stefani
Date: August 29, 2005 8:45:24 AM PDT
To: Tina Ocheltree
Subject: appointment confirmations -- as we hoped!
YEEEEHAAAAAW!!! The Consulate has done well and has already confirmed your appointment times.
The three of you Northern WA families will need to be in your provinces no later than Sunday evening 9/18 for Gotcha Day on 9/19. Your Consulate appointments are on 9/26. You will be free to return to the US on 9/28.
You may now go ahead and BOOK your flight tickets. If you can get tickets from the US all the way into your provincial capital where the adoption takes place that is easiest. BOIT will take care of getting you from the provincial capital to Guangzhou and back to your departing city from China. BOIT will also take care of all hotel arrangements. You just sit back and get packed and let BOIT figure the rest of your trip out.
I know you have waited, and waited and now you are going to have to run like the dickens to get everything ready. Let the packing/flight booking race begin in earnest!!
Date: August 29, 2005 8:45:24 AM PDT
To: Tina Ocheltree
Subject: appointment confirmations -- as we hoped!
YEEEEHAAAAAW!!! The Consulate has done well and has already confirmed your appointment times.
The three of you Northern WA families will need to be in your provinces no later than Sunday evening 9/18 for Gotcha Day on 9/19. Your Consulate appointments are on 9/26. You will be free to return to the US on 9/28.
You may now go ahead and BOOK your flight tickets. If you can get tickets from the US all the way into your provincial capital where the adoption takes place that is easiest. BOIT will take care of getting you from the provincial capital to Guangzhou and back to your departing city from China. BOIT will also take care of all hotel arrangements. You just sit back and get packed and let BOIT figure the rest of your trip out.
I know you have waited, and waited and now you are going to have to run like the dickens to get everything ready. Let the packing/flight booking race begin in earnest!!
So there's our schedule! We leave in exactly 2 and half weeks and will have Kai on Monday, September 19th.
I think there's still some packing to do...
I wonder if we should do any baby proofing?
Probably should get those airline tickets now...
There's a billion things I'm forgetting
--better go... I promise to post again after we catch our breath (gotta remember to breath)
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Finally -- TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!
We got a very surprising phone call this morning! Ginger, from our agency, called to say that they received our Travel Approval from China in the mail today! This is very unusual for TA's to show up on a Saturday, so we were doubly surprised. Now that we have this we can schedule an appointment with the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou and finalize our travel plans. Ginger said that they would call the consulate and beg for an appointment on either September 19th or 26th. This means we could be leaving as soon as September 9!!!
Would write more, but we have packing to do...
Would write more, but we have packing to do...
Friday, August 26, 2005
More New Photos!!!
We were hoping for Travel Approval, but it's going to be a bit longer still.
But we did get this very interesting looking envelope in the mail...
You can click on it to see what's inside!!
We got the pictures from the disposable camera we had sent to the orphanage!
I've retouched a few of them as Kai was wearing split pants (a popular alternative to diapers in China) and we thought we wouldn't be too happy if someone posted pictures on the internet of us in those; though we are quite certain now that we are getting a boy!
It's exciting to have current pictures of him. We have a much better idea now of how big he is, and how he spends his days. The nannies did a great job of taking pictures of him doing different things. You can tell though that he does not enjoy being posed, but is much happier looking when he's hanging out with his buddies.
We thought about only posting some of the pictures, and maybe leaving out some of the sad face ones. But I think it's better to let people see where he is. I have very mixed feelings when I look at these. The orphanage looks like they have very little for the children, and some of the things are quite worn. But it is clean and the children look happy, and the nannies look nice. I know Kai will be sad and upset to be taken away from his friends and caregivers, but I think his future is going to be quite a bit brighter when he comes home!
But we did get this very interesting looking envelope in the mail...
You can click on it to see what's inside!!
We got the pictures from the disposable camera we had sent to the orphanage!
I've retouched a few of them as Kai was wearing split pants (a popular alternative to diapers in China) and we thought we wouldn't be too happy if someone posted pictures on the internet of us in those; though we are quite certain now that we are getting a boy!
It's exciting to have current pictures of him. We have a much better idea now of how big he is, and how he spends his days. The nannies did a great job of taking pictures of him doing different things. You can tell though that he does not enjoy being posed, but is much happier looking when he's hanging out with his buddies.
We thought about only posting some of the pictures, and maybe leaving out some of the sad face ones. But I think it's better to let people see where he is. I have very mixed feelings when I look at these. The orphanage looks like they have very little for the children, and some of the things are quite worn. But it is clean and the children look happy, and the nannies look nice. I know Kai will be sad and upset to be taken away from his friends and caregivers, but I think his future is going to be quite a bit brighter when he comes home!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Chinese to English • English to Chinese
We got the questions back that we sent to the orphanage. We were really excited to get this information. We were hoping we might get it when went to China and got Kai. To get it ahead time makes us feel really good about the orphanage and the people taking care of Kai. Here's a low-res copy of it .
So what's it say? That's sure what we wanted to know. Well as it turns out, I have a friend I met at a magic convention a couple years ago named Paul. He's a really great guy and was very excited for us when he heard we were adopting a child from China. Paul's wife is Chinese and he spends a fair bit of time in China with his work. Last weekend there was a magic workshop in Everett. The guest magician from California was going to be doing a show in the evening. I knew Paul was going, so I e-mailed him and asked if we might be able to meet up there and go out to dinner afterwards. He thought that sounded great, but suggested we just go back to his house for dinner after the show since it was very close to the theater.
So Tina and I drove down and met Paul and his wife Margaret (Mei Mei) for the magic show, then went over to their house for dinner. We had a GREAT evening! They are a fascinating couple and very, very nice. Mei Mei offered to translate things for us if we needed it so we sent her the copy above once we got it. Below is the translation she sent us...
1) Has he had any new health problems or allergies?
No
(2) What medical treatments has he received?
None
(3) What are his favorite foods and activities?
Food: Milk, noodle and egg roll
Activities: play balls and being outdoor
(4) How would you describe his personality?
He's more comfortable being by himself.
(5) Does he have any likes/dislikes/sensitivities?
love to have new clothes and shoes, play with balls, doesn't like anything furry.
(6) What makes him happy?
being outdoors and play balls
(7) Is he close to a particular nanny? What is this nanny’s name?
they are 2 of them, Tseng Chin-yen and Zhao Er-na
(8) Was a note or any other memento found with him?
None
(9) Do you have his finding ad? Can we have a copy?
Yes, we would love to give you a copy
(10) What else would you like to tell us about him?
quite sensitive, cry a lot, don't force him to do anything when he had his mind set. Can't eat anything which is hard to chew.
(11) Does the orphanage need anything in particular?
Yes, air conditioning and baby (?) i couldn't read the writing, it wasn't very clear.
Isn't that too cool?!?
We are thrilled to get this information about him. It's not that much really, but it's so much more than we've had! I also think it's cool that it's not all "he's a quiet easy baby". It makes me think the people at the orphanage really know something about him, and that he hasn't just given up on life.
Below is an information card we had translated into Mandarin. We will carry this with us when we are traveling. We will use it to explain to people we meet why we are traveling, and why Kai is with us...
Here's the translation...
Hello!
We are Scott and Tina Ocheltree from Washington State, USA. We live fairly close to Seattle. We are here in your beautiful country to adopt Dang Hui as our son. We promise to teach him about his Chinese culture, and promise we will love him always. His big brothers are traveling with us.
Thank you for the kindness you have shown us.
Scott and Tina Ocheltree, Cameron and Benjamin
So what's it say? That's sure what we wanted to know. Well as it turns out, I have a friend I met at a magic convention a couple years ago named Paul. He's a really great guy and was very excited for us when he heard we were adopting a child from China. Paul's wife is Chinese and he spends a fair bit of time in China with his work. Last weekend there was a magic workshop in Everett. The guest magician from California was going to be doing a show in the evening. I knew Paul was going, so I e-mailed him and asked if we might be able to meet up there and go out to dinner afterwards. He thought that sounded great, but suggested we just go back to his house for dinner after the show since it was very close to the theater.
So Tina and I drove down and met Paul and his wife Margaret (Mei Mei) for the magic show, then went over to their house for dinner. We had a GREAT evening! They are a fascinating couple and very, very nice. Mei Mei offered to translate things for us if we needed it so we sent her the copy above once we got it. Below is the translation she sent us...
1) Has he had any new health problems or allergies?
No
(2) What medical treatments has he received?
None
(3) What are his favorite foods and activities?
Food: Milk, noodle and egg roll
Activities: play balls and being outdoor
(4) How would you describe his personality?
He's more comfortable being by himself.
(5) Does he have any likes/dislikes/sensitivities?
love to have new clothes and shoes, play with balls, doesn't like anything furry.
(6) What makes him happy?
being outdoors and play balls
(7) Is he close to a particular nanny? What is this nanny’s name?
they are 2 of them, Tseng Chin-yen and Zhao Er-na
(8) Was a note or any other memento found with him?
None
(9) Do you have his finding ad? Can we have a copy?
Yes, we would love to give you a copy
(10) What else would you like to tell us about him?
quite sensitive, cry a lot, don't force him to do anything when he had his mind set. Can't eat anything which is hard to chew.
(11) Does the orphanage need anything in particular?
Yes, air conditioning and baby (?) i couldn't read the writing, it wasn't very clear.
Isn't that too cool?!?
We are thrilled to get this information about him. It's not that much really, but it's so much more than we've had! I also think it's cool that it's not all "he's a quiet easy baby". It makes me think the people at the orphanage really know something about him, and that he hasn't just given up on life.
Below is an information card we had translated into Mandarin. We will carry this with us when we are traveling. We will use it to explain to people we meet why we are traveling, and why Kai is with us...
Here's the translation...
Hello!
We are Scott and Tina Ocheltree from Washington State, USA. We live fairly close to Seattle. We are here in your beautiful country to adopt Dang Hui as our son. We promise to teach him about his Chinese culture, and promise we will love him always. His big brothers are traveling with us.
Thank you for the kindness you have shown us.
Scott and Tina Ocheltree, Cameron and Benjamin
Friday, August 12, 2005
New Photos!!!!!!!!!!!
CLICK HERE To See The New Photos!
Today was a VERY exciting day! First we received an email message from our agency saying that our Travel Approval documents are being prepared in China and should be sent to us next week. Once we receive these we will be able to schedule a consulate appointment and make our travel arrangements!
And if that weren't exciting enough, we got email from Adele at BlessedKids.com, her father in China was able to get 6 additional photos from the orphanage for us! She sent us an email with the pictures. The orphanage also sent him back the disposable camera and the answers to the questions we had them send for us! We have not gotten the questions and answers from him yet, but hope to soon. In the meantime, we are thrilled with these pictures.
From what you can see in the background the orphanage facility looks really nice, things are clean and in good shape. The people with Kai look friendly, and he seems to be very happy.
I was actually kind of worried about getting these pictures, because I find a lot of the pictures of the babies in the orphanage look so sad. I was worried that the pictures might make me worried or more anxious for him.
I AM extremely anxious about going to get him now, but I also feel more confidant that he is in a good place, and is being well cared for by good people.
I have put the uncropped pictures in a photo-album page linked on the right called "Updated Pictures of Kai"
As we were looking at the pictures and raving about them to one another we felt a bit like Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona...
Ed: Oh! He's beautiful!
H.I. : Yeah, He's awful damn good. I Think I got the best one.
Ed: I bet they were all beautiful. All babies are beautiful!
H.I. This one's awful damn good though!
Ed: Don't you cuss around him!
Today was a VERY exciting day! First we received an email message from our agency saying that our Travel Approval documents are being prepared in China and should be sent to us next week. Once we receive these we will be able to schedule a consulate appointment and make our travel arrangements!
And if that weren't exciting enough, we got email from Adele at BlessedKids.com, her father in China was able to get 6 additional photos from the orphanage for us! She sent us an email with the pictures. The orphanage also sent him back the disposable camera and the answers to the questions we had them send for us! We have not gotten the questions and answers from him yet, but hope to soon. In the meantime, we are thrilled with these pictures.
From what you can see in the background the orphanage facility looks really nice, things are clean and in good shape. The people with Kai look friendly, and he seems to be very happy.
I was actually kind of worried about getting these pictures, because I find a lot of the pictures of the babies in the orphanage look so sad. I was worried that the pictures might make me worried or more anxious for him.
I AM extremely anxious about going to get him now, but I also feel more confidant that he is in a good place, and is being well cared for by good people.
I have put the uncropped pictures in a photo-album page linked on the right called "Updated Pictures of Kai"
As we were looking at the pictures and raving about them to one another we felt a bit like Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona...
Ed: Oh! He's beautiful!
H.I. : Yeah, He's awful damn good. I Think I got the best one.
Ed: I bet they were all beautiful. All babies are beautiful!
H.I. This one's awful damn good though!
Ed: Don't you cuss around him!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Still Waiting...
So we got a complaint today on the lack of updates here.
We are bumming cuz we still are waiting... grrr! The total lack of blog updates is due to the total lack of any news. We are in the final waiting stretch, and all there is to do right now is wait. We were hoping we would be traveling before the end of August, but then we just missed a cut off date for Travel Approvals (TA). So then we were hoping to travel the beginning of September. This weekend we just learned that the administrators of the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) are doing training and are currently traveling in the U.S. so now everything is being delayed another couple weeks. We are now hoping to be traveling before the end of September.
We are trying to get updated pictures of Kai right now. There is a woman named Adelle who runs a business on the internet called BlessedKids.com. She is Chinese, living in the U.S. Her father still lives in China. Through her, we have arranged to send a "care package" to Kai in the orphanage. it consists of a blankie, teddy bear, photo album, disposable camera and treats for the nannies. We emailed her photos and questions for the nannies about Kai. She then translates the questions and sends them to her dad. he prints out the photos of us and puts them in the photo album for Kai, and buys the gifts and other items in China. We will hopefully get the disposable camera back when we get Kai. She also has her father trying to get new photos of Kai from the orphanage to email to us.
So while we are all waiting, here are some in interesting links you might enjoy...
CLICK HERE to see a video that will make you cry. This is a website for bringmehope.org a foundation that raises money to help families adopt orphans from China.
CLICK HERE to read a great newspaper article that really does a good job of explaining the process of adopting from China as well as the social forces that have created the situation these children are in.
CLICK HERE to see a fantastic slide show of images by Chinese photographer Yann Layma (note: the slideshow takes a few minutes to load)
We are bumming cuz we still are waiting... grrr! The total lack of blog updates is due to the total lack of any news. We are in the final waiting stretch, and all there is to do right now is wait. We were hoping we would be traveling before the end of August, but then we just missed a cut off date for Travel Approvals (TA). So then we were hoping to travel the beginning of September. This weekend we just learned that the administrators of the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) are doing training and are currently traveling in the U.S. so now everything is being delayed another couple weeks. We are now hoping to be traveling before the end of September.
We are trying to get updated pictures of Kai right now. There is a woman named Adelle who runs a business on the internet called BlessedKids.com. She is Chinese, living in the U.S. Her father still lives in China. Through her, we have arranged to send a "care package" to Kai in the orphanage. it consists of a blankie, teddy bear, photo album, disposable camera and treats for the nannies. We emailed her photos and questions for the nannies about Kai. She then translates the questions and sends them to her dad. he prints out the photos of us and puts them in the photo album for Kai, and buys the gifts and other items in China. We will hopefully get the disposable camera back when we get Kai. She also has her father trying to get new photos of Kai from the orphanage to email to us.
So while we are all waiting, here are some in interesting links you might enjoy...
CLICK HERE to see a video that will make you cry. This is a website for bringmehope.org a foundation that raises money to help families adopt orphans from China.
CLICK HERE to read a great newspaper article that really does a good job of explaining the process of adopting from China as well as the social forces that have created the situation these children are in.
CLICK HERE to see a fantastic slide show of images by Chinese photographer Yann Layma (note: the slideshow takes a few minutes to load)
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