Red Couch Pictures

Yesterday was another free day for us so we spent it shopping. Joelle is getting more and more comfortable with our family now. She stays closer to us now and does not throw her arms up to strangers as much. She also sings little songs to herself quite a lot now. We went to the Starbucks which is just a few blocks from our hotel. It is amazing how something small like that gives you such comfort when you are away from home. Unfortunately, the prices are not any cheaper here. We still paid about $7 for two coffees. There is a lot of construction going on around the hotel so there were many people doing very heavy labor ( including women) right outside the Starbucks. The thought struck me of how much that $7 might mean to someone that makes very little money.

Today (Wednesday) we will take the famous red couch pictures. The White Swan hotel has these red couches and everyone who adopted takes pictures of their children on these red couches. We will take a group picture this morning as well. After that I am going to the Jade Market with Ann from Red Thread ( a website) to buy a jade necklace for Zoe and Joelle to have when they are older. Then at 2:15pm we go to the American Consulate to take our oath. We will go to dinner as a group again tonight, probably chinese or Thai according to Shiyan. That is about it. Talk to you tomorrow:)