Information for Waiting Parents
Before and After Referral

Last Revised: 9/25/07

Information for those waiting for their referral

• Find and join your local Families with Children from China chapter. Many chapters have special activities for waiting families. You will also have a variety of events to attend where many happy and healthy Chinese children will be present, this is always good for the waiting parents morale.

• Frequently asked questions about adoption from China. This is a complete overview of the process and has answers to many of the usual questions about the process.

• Preparing while you wait for adoption travel: Getting Yourself Immunized Now, from Deborah A. Borchers, M.D., F.A.A.P. about which vaccinations parents need to get well before traveling to China.

• Internet links to general adoption web sites. These links are to information about adoption in general and cover a variety of topics. Also links to other sites with a broader coverage of international adoption.

• Internet links to web sites with specific information on adoption from China. These include personal stories of those who have adopted from China, information needed in the adoption process, and other sites related to China adoptions.

• Links to a variety of information about China, get to know your child's country while you have some spare time.

• Our listing of Book Reviews of books of interest to the China Adoption community.

• Instructions on how to subscribe to the A-Parents-China and/or Post-Adopt-China Email mailing lists. The APC list has over 1500 subscribers and is an excellent resource for prospective parents in the China adoption process. Be warned that this is a very busy list, traffic can reach 100+ messages per day. Switching to the digest form immediately after subscribing is strongly suggested to keep your emailbox from reaching its limit.

• The most current version of the waiting time graphsare maintained by Ralph Stirling. The graphs and charts are usually updated regularly and show the most recent statistics on the time from sending your dossier to China to receiving a referral.

• There are times of the year when dossier processing in China is slowed due to holidays. You can look at our listing to see when these occur.

• The Indiana FCC Calendar of Chinese children is always good for morale.

• One parents suggestions for reading material during the wait.

• Download Chinese Name and Chinese Names Transltion Provides download of Chinese Names in beautiful authentic Chinese characters, free zodiac name seals, free blessing key rings with Chinese names. URL: http://www.freechinesenames.com

• Our complete collection of the laws and regulations issued by the China Center for Adoption Affairs. If you have a question about what CCAA specifically requires, the answer is in one of these pages.

• The Mall You can also spend your time browsing through sites that sell many China related books and other items of interest.

• Articles from FCC newletters from across the country will give you a preview of life with little people and related issues.

Information for those who have their referral
and are waiting to travel to China

• Frequently asked questions about adoption from China. This is a complete overview of the process and has answers to many of the usual questions about the process.

• Mandarin & Cantonese Translation website. Includes links to other related Chinese language sites. Find a basic translation of your childs orphanage name without delay. You will need the Mandarin characters to identify the best translation.

• Adoption-related Mandarin Phrases on the website of ChinaSona Inc. This has mp3 files of the phrases so that you can perfect your pronounciation.

• Chinese Dictionaries: Free Chinese - English and English - Chinese dictionaries on Babylon.com.

• The Guangzhou SOS Cinic is temporarily closed. Another resource is: Dr Richard Ong Can Am International Mmedicine Center 5F Garden Tower Garden Hotel 368 Huanshi DonLu Gunagzhou 8620 83866988.

• The China Medical Directory has listings of hospitals and clinics that *should* have english speaking staff to help traveling families with medical problems.

• Some Words for Adoptive Parents: Audio and Pinyin notation for common words and expressions we may want to use with our children. This award winning page was created by Haiwang Yuan, Western Kentucky University, with Remy Guo. This site would be especially useful for parents adopting a child of 2 or older who has some language skill. Note that these phrases are in Mandarin, if your child is from a Cantonese speaking area, they may not understand these very well.

• Translated Questions for Orphanages Has English and Mandarin versions of some standard questions that you may wish to ask the orphanage staff.

• Health and Medical Information The scientific information on the health of children adopted from China is limited but favorable. Here are links to what we have available. In the FAQ, we have information on the two major clinics that deal with international adoption health issues.

• The Consular Information Sheet from the U.S. State Department has the general information about travel to China and any current advisories or warnings.

• A website with Referrals by Province can be a good place to locate other families that have adopted from the orphanage where you child is waiting.

• We also have an two articles by an immigration lawyer and China parent C.J. Lyford related to the Child Citizenship Act, Is or will your child automatically become a U.S. citizen under the Child Citizenship Act? Some comments on the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 as it applies to foreign-born adopted children and How do you get proof of citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act for your foreign - born adopted child?

• Business in Guangzhou: All US adoptive families must stay in Guangzhou to get the visa for your new child at the US Consulate. Here are some businesses in Guangzhou that may be of interest:
  

  A Gift From China is a store in Guangzhou. It is run by a wonderful British lady named Samantha Jens and all profits go to the orphanages. It is located at No. 62 Shamian Da Jie, Guangzhou, just up the street from the consulate and the White Swan. Phone (020)81915869. For e-mail contact, write samantha @public.guangzhou.gd.cn. Gift items are appropriate, reasonably priced and, again, all profits go to the kids. Website: http://www.agiftfromchina.com

  Danny's Bagel, Guangzhou, China established in 1997, Offers Delivery service of all their prepared meals to most Hotels in Guangzhou. Thats right; Pizza, Pasta's, Wings, Bagels, Even Baked Lasagna and Plenty of Diet Coke and Coke Products. And you do not have to pay the 4 & 5 Star hotel prices. We do not have a Service Charge and our prices are quite reasonable. I would say our prices are 15% - 25% lower than the 4 & 5 Star hotels.

  Jennifer's Place Our store located on Shamian Island, Guangzhou China specializes in making the adoption process easier. We have strollers available to borrow. We also offer internet, laundry, delivery, and courier service. Not to mention an unbelievable selection of traditional merchandise to bring home with you. Please let us make your stay in Guangzhou more comfortable and reasonable. In addition, if you have forgotten something or your child has outgrown the outfit you bought in China you can order a replacement or browse many other items from Jennifer's US store. Special discounts are made for adoption families. Link: http://www.jennifersplaceusa.homestead.com/index.html

  Jordan's Baby Place Jordan's is located on Shamain Island, #2 street, beside the New Victory Hotel, around the block from the Health Center. Our air -conditioned store is friendly, family-owned, with no high pressure sales. We offer inexpensive high speed broadband internet access. We can take your picture digitally or download/scan your pictures so you can email them to your family back home. We have beautiful, fairly priced children's clothing and high quality gifts and souvenirs. We offer competitive laundry services. You can borrow a stroller for FREE during your visit in Guangzhou. Remember to visit Jordan's when you come to Shamain Island.

  Sherry's Place Since 1989, Sherry's Place has been a Home Away From Home for thousands of adopting families. When you arrive in Guangzhou, come see us and get a free stroller. We're right around the corner from the White Swan. During your week here, stop by and check your e-mail - no charge. Our pleasure. We also provide special discounts on laundry service. If you have a question about Chinese culture or customs, ask us. E-mail us in advance, if you like. We love meeting new adopting families. You are all doing such a wonderful thing. So come by and say "hello." And receive a warm "Ni Hao" (hello) in return. Xie xie! (thank you). Website: http://www.sherrymama.com.

  The Shop on the Stairs near the White Swan Hotel is regarded as one of the best places in Guangzhou to get chops, wall hangings, silk pajamas and a variety of other items.

• Growth Charts Here are the growth charts for Chinese Girls and Boys. These can be used to estimate the height and weight of your child at the time of adoption. See the FAQ travel section for details.

• Weather in China is always of interest. Here we have average monthly temperature, rainfall, humidity, and snow cover data for 48 cities in China. These will give you a general idea of what to expect when you travel. A number of sites now have five-day forcasts for a number of cities in China, these include: the Yahoo listing, the Excite, CNN, and USA Today.

• Travel Reports are brief reports from families who have traveled to China about the specific hotels that they have stayed in during their adoption journey. These will give you a general idea on what to expect in the cities you will be staying in during your trip in China to bring your child home.

• Maps of China can be obtained from several sources. Some travel guides such as Baedekers China will come with a map included. Nelles Maps has a four map series that covers all areas of China that anyone is likely to travel to. These maps are so good that our driver borrowed ours during our drive to the orphanage city! These can be ordered from Rand McNally web site or their stores in major malls. Other sites include World Traveler Books & Maps, and the California Map & Travel Center. Here is a link to Elstead Maps in England for our European compatriots.

• U.S. Government and State Government Information Sources. A list of links to obtain needed information from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, State Department, and other links.

• Packing Lists are always of interest we have a collection of packing lists. What you will need to take depends on what part of China you will be traveling to and what time of year you will be going.

• The most current version of the waiting time graphsare maintained by Ralph Stirling. The graphs and charts are usually updated regularly and include the timefrom referral to travel.

• There are times of the year when travel permission processing in China is slowed due to holidays. You can look at our listing to see when these occur.

• A good source of specific information about traveling to a specific city in China is the parents who have already traveled there. The Directories List. is a compilation of the contacts for directories and parents groups for different orphanages, cities, and provinces. Thanks to Bob Crawford for maintaining this list. Another possible source of contact information is My Home Town. "A page for children adopted in China to learn about their home towns and home provinces." A work in process that should become a wonderful resource. An additional source is the collection of groups now hosted on Yahoo, see our page on email listserves for links.

• The Mall A number of the sites in our Mall section have items of interest to the prospective parents, take a look.

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URL: http://fwcc.org/info2.htm