Day 12 (Leaving China)

Our bags were packed, we were sitting in the hotel. Lacey had been clingy all day, maybe sensing a little bit of what was coming. We were leaving her homeland; ending one journey, beginning a new one.

The day was all about wrapping things up. Our last breakfast in China. Afterwards, I had to attend a wrap up meeting with the other families. We were given directions for the next day or so. Suffice it to say, my nervousness increased 100-fold! It seemed like the direction for Hong Kong had subsections, sub chapters, nested parenthesis, etc. So when I returned to our room, I didn't exactly do what my room card said, "Walk in the room like you own it." But I did offer to get McDonalds, so that has to mean something.

Then, we put Lacey down - she wasn't very interested in a nap! She was quite nervous, it seemed. Then, Cindy and I finished up packing, and she ran off to get Starbucks. We approached the elephant in the room, "So, how are we going to handle a 15.5 hour flight??" It was like a knot in our stomachs.

But that was before the first mini-trip. We got the final document at 4:30, Lacey's visa to enter the US. And, with that, we said goodbye to our new friends. It was more emotional than we expected. We walked out, got into the bus, and went to the train station.

The train station consisted of the following: escalators, escalators, waiting, lines, more waiting, more escalators, more escalators, and then boarding. We sat in our seats for a few minutes, and then we said goodbye to China. The train ride itself gave us more of an opportunity to see China, the not-so-fancy parts. As in every part of the world, it seems surreal to leave a 5-star hotel and then see utter poverty. The ride went well until about 30 minutes remained, and Lacey went full-on ballistic. It was "challenging." Thankfully, there wasn't a Daniel-shaped hole in the train, or I might have used it!

We hit Hong Kong, and were immediately excited to enjoy a few annoying lines and unexpected forms to fill out for our lengthy, 10-hour stay in the country. We were further excited to discover we had about 50 minutes to get to the hotel - woot! I will say this, though, Hong Kong is seriously cool at night. The buildings looked awesome, the lighting very unique. We were in for further delight when we arrived at the hotel and were encountered by a crowd in the lobby roughly the size of a small country. But we made it through okay, put Lacey in bed, and spent our last evening outside of America. The elephant in the room had grown. We were genuinely afraid, and borderline freaking out. Cindy went downstairs to use the Internet (it cost money to use it in your room). She let some folks know about the elephant on Facebook, and we immediately were encouraged by the responses.

And, with that, we went to bed quite apprehensive, but incredibly excited to head home.

Thanks for reading,
Daniel