[sak9645]

China wants agencies to submit dossiers in groups. It generally refers each group of families children from the same province, and then arranges for each group to complete their adoptions on the same day. It is more efficient for an orphanage, if it must drive babies six hours to the nearest city or cope with visitors.

Most families like to travel together. For one thing, there is the camaraderie and mutual support of a group. Even now, more than five years after I adopted my daughter, I am very close to my group members, with whom I shared the long wait and the travel. Three of my daughter's closest friends are from our group. Although several members of the group were experienced travelers -- one single woman had lived in Africa for years implementing public health programs in various countries -- none of us felt as if the travel cramped our style or unduly regimented us.

It is also cheaper for families to travel together. Unless you are fluent in Chinese, you WILL need a guide/translator to help you complete the adoption formalities, which will be conducted in Mandarin, not English. A group shares the cost of a guide/translator. When a group stays in a hotel, there are often discounts on breakfasts and such. And most people want to do things during the week they are in their child's city; it is cheaper for a group to have a bus to tour in, than to hire individual cabs or cars with drivers. The guide will usually suggest tours, but the group can decide if those are appropriate, and may make recommendations of their own.

Most agencies suggest that individuals make their own arrangements for getting to China, though some do have people travel together. My agency allowed the eight families in my group to get to Hong Kong as we chose, and to stay where we chose in Hong Kong; however, for those who wished, the agency had access to incredible discounts on one particular airline and one particular hotel. Most of us took advantage of the hotel discount, though one family chose to stay elsewhere. Some of us took advantage of the airline discount, though at least one family had frequent flyer miles on another airline and used them. I must say that both the airline and the hotel were GREAT.

In Hong Kong, we were all on our own. Some of us did things together; most didn't. The last night, of our own volition, we chose to set up a Chinese banquet to celebrate the impending end of our childlessness. The agency was not involved in any way. The banquet, at a well-known restaurant, was fantastic, and yet another bond among us.

In Hong Kong, the agency had representatives from China Women's Travel (an arm of the Chinese government at the time, and closely tied to the CCAA) deliver us our air tickets to our children's locations; five of us were going to Xiamen in Fujian province and three were going to Guangzhou. I was in the Xiamen group. Basically, we all took the same flight, though we got to the airport on our own.

In Xiamen, we were met by our guide/translator from China Women's Travel. He brought an airconditioned bus for us, and a separate truck for our luggage. He got us settled in our hotel, then left for a while to let us get settled and wander around the neighborhood. Later, he returned to have us fill out the paperwork we would need for the orphanage and subsequent finalization. We were glad to have his guidance.

The next day, he met us after breakfast and took us to the orphanage, where we met our children; he translated our questions to the staff and their answers to us. He then drove us back to the hotel so we could spend time alone with our kids, and then took us to the finalization activities. He did all of the translation at the government office, and everything went very smoothly.

We had to remain in Xiamen for a week, awaiting our paperwork. During that time, he had planned to have us tour all day, every day. Our group quietly decided that we didn't like that approach. We said that we wanted only half day tours, so that we could spend the remaining time bonding with our kids, dealing with their bronchitis and such, getting them on good sleep/nap schedules, and exploring on our own. That was fine with the guide.

I must say that the guide's suggested activities were fabulous. One day, we had a vegetarian banquet at an ancient Buddhist temple. One day we had a tea ceremony at one of China's elite universities after we toured the campus. For me, the highlight of the week was a trip to Gulangyu Island, an artists' colony where all wheeled vehicles were banned, and where there was stunning 19th century European architecture because many foreign embassies were once located there.

I didn't do all that much on my own, mainly because my daughter was ill and because I wanted to get her on a good sleep and nap schedule. Still, I did wander around a good deal in the late afternoons.

It was good to have the group when a problem arose. When our children's documents arrived at the local office by overnight carrier on Friday, so we could leave Xiamen on Saturday, our children's passports weren't among them. A clerk was out sick in the office in the provincial capital where they were to have been prepared. It looked as though we would be delayed, missing our Consulate appointments in Guangzhou on Tuesday, and maybe even our flights home.

Working together, we called our agency head (at 2 a.m. in the U.S.) He and China Women's Travel worked out a solution. Pulling some strings, CWT got the provincial authorities to bring in a "temp". We got permission to leave Xiamen on schedule, without the passports. After taking us to the airport, our guide hopped a plane to the provincial capital, where he waited until Monday for the passports to be typed. He then flew immediately to Guangzhou, meeting us there that evening. The total additional cost to each of us was about $20, for the guide's airfare and lodging. Had I gone as an individual, I daresay that I would not have gotten such service -- and if I had, I probably would have had to pay much more.

In Guangzhou, we had Saturday night and Sunday on our own; it happened to be Mother's Day! Then our Guangzhou CWT guide -- one of the organization's best, based in Beijing -- took us for the required visa photos. He was a pro, and held each of our babies during the picture-taking, so they came out exactly right. That night, he read every word of our documents, to make sure there were no spelling errors and such. He knew the Consulate procedures perfectly and was NOT going to have anything go wrong on his watch.

The Consulate appointment went off without a hitch. We did some touring during the 24 hours before we were allowed to pick up our visas. After getting them, our guide (who also used a vehicle for us and a separate one for the luggage) raced pell-mell through rush hour traffic to get us on the last flight out, so we could have a brief overnight in Hong Kong and make our 6 a.m. flight to Los Angeles, where I was to connect with another plane to DC.

It sometimes happens that a person goes solo, but usually if an agency has no other dossiers awaiting sending to China or if a group of Chinese children's dossiers is not large enough for the CCAA to match with a group of parents' dossiers. Once in a while, it also happens that someone is ill and must travel later than the rest of the group. Frankly, it is not an ideal situation, though people do cope fine.

If you really want to go solo, make sure your agency can handle a person traveling without a group. It may not be possible to make appropriate plans, given what China will require.

Sharon

[ADDY]

Thank you Sharon

For your very indepth account of what to expect and why it is so much better to travel as a group. You have helped alot. I'm looking forward to the whole experience now. Thank you Addy

[SAC]

Thanks Sharon! I asked you some questions under another thread, but after reading the above my questions have been answered. Thank you so much for the clear and detailed account of your journey.

Susan

[sak9645]

I'd be delighted to talk with you further about China adoption. Please don't hesitate to contact me at sak9645@starpower.net.