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Zhen woke up at 5:30 am, as we were told to expect. No crying, just little noises to let us know she was up. What a great kid! She has such a ready smile, and just about anything amuses her. 
She smiles with her whole scrunched up face. Lots of baby giggles when tickled on her tummy. After a morning bottle (warmed up of course), we headed down to breakfast. We found other early risers from our group, and had to wait as the food was put out on the buffet. Zhen sat calmly, taking it all in. She loved the food, especially the egg custard (we were told that they had this in the orphanage), and lots of other bits of food (rice, beans, mashed vegetables and banana, etc.) As she was being fed, she let out with loud squeals and shouts of delight, much to the amusement of the other diners around us. Andy and I took turns feeding her, and going back to the buffet for more.
Off in the bus again, to the Civil Authority Centre for the exchange of cash and for the final signing. We were given a day with the babies to make sure we were pleased, and that we accepted the little one that had been handed over. The cash consisted of fees for the Authorities, and a fee to the Orphanage for the care up to now. This was to be paid in US dollars, large bills, and brand new. We were advised that if there were any creases or folds, they had to be ironed out. Bags of clothing and toys (again, they had to be brand new) were given as gifts to the orphanage, along with more personal gifts for the staff (Maple Syrup, whiskey, smoked salmon etc.). These were not opened immediately, but as is the custom, divided up later. Papers were exchanged, and the new parents could not believe the babies were finally theirs!
The kids were great through all of this. No crying, only fascinated stares at all the goings on. We certainly got the impression that they had not been out much before this. We videotaped a lot of this, including an interview with the Directors (with everyone clustered around in the main hall). We were hoping to visit the orphanage, but we were denied, with apologies about construction etc. We feel that the orphanages are still a little gun-shy from an experience with a foreign journalist a few years ago. He visited some of the poorer locations, and wrote a critical review about the conditions. China cut off adoptions for several years after this. We get the impression that China in the meantime has put money and resources into the "Social Welfare Institutes" since then. Certainly the pictures we have seen of other SWIs look good - new buildings and facilities.
We asked the Directors if we could do some fundraising for them, and they said that their main need at the moment was for some exercise equipment. They have residents of all ages, the oldest being 92! All the officials were friendly and helpful, and willing to talk to us. Not so with the guards on the doors and corridors. They forbade us to take any pictures that included them. They were pretty serious about it all, so we stayed away from them. The only negative for us was the buses and cars that idled outside the main door, and filled the waiting area and offices with exhaust fumes.
As our bus left the center, we noticed that the alley that the bus had to go down to the centre was made smaller by parked cars on either side. Our driver was very skilled at slowly edging by, literally within inches of other vehicles. The lanes on the main roads were very narrow, and buses and cars zoomed by each other with inches to spare. At one point our bus had to swerve over to pass a double-parked truck. We were in the right lane, with cars beside us in the left lane. As we moved to the center lane, the cars beside us stayed there, thus taking over the opposing centre lane, forcing the opposing traffic to swerve over to their right lane. No one gives way here unless they have to.
There were lots of people on bicycles and scooters. These are used for many purposes. 
We saw one bicycle piled high and wide with wicker baskets. Another was riding along with a 12-foot high stepladder upright on the bicycle, and still another with huge bags of plastic bottles. Another rider was seen sporting garden rakes, a shovel, and two trees. Back in the hotel, we noticed from our high viewpoint the masses of bicycle commuters in bike lanes to the side of each road. We were puzzled when a bunch would stop and wait in the middle of the intersection. Then we noted that they would suddenly all go diagonally across the intersection when there was a two way advanced green. All seemed to get across safely.
We ate lunch in the hotel room. Andy and I had bought some noodle mixes in the grocery store, and we had brought some muffins and yogurt from the breakfast buffet. (btw, the yogurt, in little plastic containers, was completely liquid, and was drunk, rather than eaten). Although we boiled some water in the room, we soon found that it was easier to buy water, and it was only about 35 cents (CDN) for a 2-litre bottle. Zhen drank the formula that Andy brought (after a few pouts and frowns at the new taste), and was soon drinking the formula we bought in the grocery store. Soft foods from our meals were also accepted, as well as food from jars of baby food from the store (Heinz!). The store soon ran out of jars, there were so many adopting parents staying in the area.
Zhen is so easy going. She responds to everyone with her full-faced smile, and continues to shout out at her food. Nothing seems to bother her - being hungry, sleepy, or falling over - she doesn't fuss or cry, just lets us quietly know. When things are really not right (constipation for a while) her cry is more like a shout of rage. Everybody loves her - what a happy, well-fed, solid (strong arms, legs, back), well loved, and healthy baby!
Andy gave Zhen her first bath. She wasn't sure about it at first (has she ever been in a bathtub?), but she soon discovered that she could splash with her little hands. She became more vigorous, and soon the water was splashing in her face, with lots of smile and laughs. Oh to enjoy such simple pleasures!
After a nap in the afternoon (all of us), we played for a while, and Cherry led us off to dinner again. We had a great walk, amongst the neon signs, traffic, hoards of bicycles, and taxis not giving anyone an inch. Many people were on foot, always with lots of smiles for our parade.
Cherry chose a fancier restaurant this time, with great dishes with different tastes. Not a large quantity of food, but well presented. As before, there were many attentive waitresses, all young and pretty, with beautiful costumes of red silk and grey ties. We ate and drank, then ordered more. The kids seemed to enjoy whatever bits of food we could manage to give them with our chopsticks.
Back to our spectacular hotel, where Zhen played with us for a while, shaking her head fighting sleep. She fell asleep around 8 p.m., a little early. Andy uploaded the day's pictures, including one of each couple with their new baby. We heard from Julie that the relatives and friends back home were really enjoying the first batch of pictures, and were looking forward to more. Andy and I went to sleep early, hoping for a good night's rest (?).
