Wyatt has a visa to enter the US and become a citizen. Our visa “interview” today was a mere formality; Bill had to pay, sign a form and swear the information was true. That was it on our part, and our adoption agency representative picked up the visa a few hours later and delivered it to us. We are done with paperwork and free to come home at anytime!
This morning we visited some of the most popular “tourist attractions” in Hanoi. We started our day at the Temple of Literature, where students studied under Confucian. The temple had multiple parts, including stone tablets listing students since 1442, a temple, and statue of Confucius. From there, we followed the tour buses to the Ho Chi Minh museum, which we opted to visit since it was very cool inside and we were quite warm! It was interesting to read Ho Chi Minh’s ideas and quotes, though I couldn’t help but wonder if the country has lived up to his ideals (though this may be true of every country and their past ideological leaders).
Nearby is the One Pillar Pagoda, a small structure in the middle of a small lake. It has undergone major restoration after French bombing so the concrete pillar makes it look quite modern and less impressive than I had envisioned. Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum is closed for 2 months, as Ho’s body must be re-embalmed yearly. We didn’t really have a desire to see him, so that was ok with us.
The afternoon was quite rainy, so we didn’t go out at all, leading to antsy kids. This evening Bill set off to buy more diapers, which was not as easy as we had envisioned. Our agency rep had said that most small shops here in the Old Quarter would have them. While Bill found many places selling diapers, they only carried size small (up to 8 kg). He ended up walking quite a distance but eventually found our size (extra large, for 12 kg and up!)
I tried to book a tour for Friday to visit Halong Bay. Unfortunately, I was informed that a typhoon just hit the Southern China coast and tours to Halong Bay have been suspended. They may start again on Friday (depending on the path the typhoon takes), but I worry that the weather may not be good or the boat ride may be too rough for the kids. We’ll see if we can find enough in Hanoi to entertain us, or we may look into other day trips as well.
It is hard to believe we left home 2 weeks ago, and that Wyatt has been with us for over a week. It has been a busy trip, but we are glad we have taken the time to get to know Wyatt and the place he has called home.
The afternoon was quite rainy, so we didn’t go out at all, leading to antsy kids. This evening Bill set off to buy more diapers, which was not as easy as we had envisioned. Our agency rep had said that most small shops here in the Old Quarter would have them. While Bill found many places selling diapers, they only carried size small (up to 8 kg). He ended up walking quite a distance but eventually found our size (extra large, for 12 kg and up!)
I tried to book a tour for Friday to visit Halong Bay. Unfortunately, I was informed that a typhoon just hit the Southern China coast and tours to Halong Bay have been suspended. They may start again on Friday (depending on the path the typhoon takes), but I worry that the weather may not be good or the boat ride may be too rough for the kids. We’ll see if we can find enough in Hanoi to entertain us, or we may look into other day trips as well.
It is hard to believe we left home 2 weeks ago, and that Wyatt has been with us for over a week. It has been a busy trip, but we are glad we have taken the time to get to know Wyatt and the place he has called home.
2 comments:
Paperwork finished, all hoops jumped WoooWhoooo! Do you feel like the grand prize winner of Amazing Race. Speaking of which the show is on this Sunday and I will record it for you.
gladd to read everything is going great can't wait to see you all and welcome wyatt into our family
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