The flight

edited for content and pictures...


Friday, after receiving Shagang's passport (Chinese) we flew to Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton). This is where the American Consulate is. As a Chinese citizen Shagang has to apply for a visa to immigrate to the US. We will receive his visa Tuesday and then the last of the paperwork is finished. With that visa, once we land on American soil Xin Shagang officially becomes Robert Adam Houser, an American citizen! For Robby, this will happen on the tarmac in Detroit.

As lifelong Buckeyes, Robby becoming a US citizen in Detroit is a bittersweet thing for mom and Kayla. My son/her brother will become an American citizen, but it will happen in 'that state up north'! :) Oh well, at least he has a scarlet and gray blanket waiting for him on his bed at home.

Robby did amazingly well on his first ever plane flight. We were concerned that his ears might cause him problems, but it was nothing chewing some gum couldn't help.
He loved playing with the buttons for the lights and spent a long time turning them on and off. He also enjoyed listening to the music on his headphones. This was another relief to us to know that he hears well enough to use headphones. The only times we have noticed any hearing issues is when we speak very quietly or sometimes when there is a lot of background noise.

The flight into Guangzhou was uneventful, except that it was VERY hot in Guangzhou when we landed, and we had a delay of several minutes on the shuttle bus that met us on the tarmac. It's good to be at the White Swan, and we have a spectacular view of the river from our hotel room.