First the good news: we made it home, safe and sound. The bad news is that jet lag totally sucks. But I get ahead of myself. Romi and I both woke up very early on Sunday morning (at 4:00 a.m.), the result of the two of us going to bed two hours early the night before. It worked out well, however, because we had plenty of time to get ready to depart. We packed up and Mr. Yeh drove us to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time to check in, but Romi was definitely getting hungry. We found an ice cream sweet-shop kiosk in the airport and I took the bottle out and indicated that I needed hot water. I know I've stated how baby-orientated Taiwanese culture is but it still surprises me how helpful people are when it comes to the little ones. The woman not only took the bottle but made sure to sterilize it too. Once we made it past security, we tried to find a place to change Romi. Luckily, we stumbled on Baby Kitty, the Hello Kitty-sponsored baby room. (No, I am not making that up.) The room was well appointed (diapers, wipes, changing stations, hot water, a crib, etc.) and was done all in pink with a cloud-blue sky. These people really love Hello Kitty.
We boarded the plane, settled in to our comfy seats and began the long trek home. We had once again to stop in Japan, gather all our belongings, get off the plane, go through security, and wait at the gate just to get back on the plane to sit in the exact same seats. Whatever. Romi did well on the plane, all things considered. He didn't even mind the turbulence. Rob and I, however, had less patience for the bad food (both Kosher and Asian vegetarian) and hours of hurling through the air. We ended up using Romi's bassinet seat more as a convenient changing table and shelf. He slept off and on, mostly on us. In actuality the trip was two hours shorter (only 10 hours from Japan and not 12), but it still seemed an eternity.
We were concerned as to how long and complicated the customs and immigration process would be in Los Angeles. Fortunately, our fears were unfounded. Rob and I breezed through, and they sent us to a separate counter for Romi. We handed the man the special sealed visa envelop from AIT (the consulate in Taipei) that we had been told repeatedly and emphatically not to open. The immigration official told us to sit and wait. We opted to stand (I didn't think we'd ever want to sit again!) and the whole process took about 10 minutes. That was it--Romi is now a U.S. citizen. We will have to go through the process of re-adopting in the States to get him an American birth certificate and all that, but he's legal.
We gathered our luggage, navigated through customs and headed out into the sunshine, a family of three!
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