Just after lunch, Dan, Karen and Katie were off to the various appointments while Alex and Grandma Hale stayed at the hotel. We had stops at the local Civil Affairs, Notary and Public Security offices. These appointments allowed us to complete the adoption and receive Katie's official adoption certificate at stop one, begin the process to receive her birth and abandonment certificates at stop two, and take her photo for her passport at stop three.

After the official stops, we made a quick run to a local grocery store to grab any necessary baby essentials. The store was a little chaotic but very interesting. If we hadn't been so tired, it would have been fun to stay longer and look around. The multi-level stores here have slanted escalators that allow you to take your shopping carts up and down. The cart wheels have grooves that lock into the escalator floor and don't allow it to move once you are on. This is one of several interesting things that we have found here that would be useful back home.

The day was long, the bus was small, and the weather very hot and humid. We found out yesterday that Nanchang is nicknamed "Stove City." Apparently the hottest weather hasn't hit yet, but this is hard to envision. Imagine Houston summer weather but without all of the air conditioning to which we are accustomed.

After the busy day, the exhaustion and the sweat, we picked up McDonald's and ate it in our rooms. I have to say that we never eat at McDonald's for dinner at home, but it was really nice to have something close to familiar. Overall, the food in both Beijing and here has been good and not as strange as you might imagine, but it was nice to have a change.

No pictures today as we were not allowed to take pictures at the government offices. Hope you all are doing well!