The big event of the day was getting Sarah’s visa to travel to the US. The visa she has means she will become a US citizen as soon as she is processed at a port of entry (these days an airport). But while we were waiting for our appointment, we went to the zoo, where we saw some very exotic animals, like this dog. Yup, a real live dog! Good thing he was behind that fence – that beast could probably tear up an ankle in no time flat!

Another interesting part of the zoo was the “Goldfish Garden” where they have a bunch of aquariums with large and small goldfish of every color (even a few gold colored ones). Since Guangzhou never freezes, the aquariums are set out in a garden where you can walk among them. It was interesting to see the variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

Apart from dogs and goldfish, the zoo also had several squirrels and a raccoon. There were a few other things like elephants, zebras and pandas, but you see those every day, so they’re hardly worth discussing. Sarah was very interested in the animals and enjoyed the trip.

After the zoo, we came back to the hotel for a rest and then we were off to the Consulate. The trip was pretty uneventful, but it is critically important, because now Sarah can legally travel home with us. We are very ready to head home, and that visa is the last piece of paper we need to start the trip.

This evening, we had dinner with some friends down by the river and got to watch the light show. Lasers and searchlights light up the night sky twice every night. It’s choreographed to music as well which is pretty cool. One of the songs is “The Beer Barrel Polka” which I was not aware was apparently a Chinese classic.

At the end of the evening, we walked to the market to pick up a few things for the trip. Along the way, Jordan stopped to say goodbye to all the girls he had met, and they all said they would miss him and wanted him to come back soon. He’s been the most eager to head home, but he told every one of them that he enjoyed his time here and he wanted to come back to visit.

I think that we’ve all enjoyed our time in China, and certainly the little girl we’re bringing home is a great joy! I think that we’ll all take a little bit of China and the people here home with us as well – in our hearts.

Tomorrow … Hong Kong!