I guess I have not been nearly as diligent with blogging during our adoption experience this time. Is it because this is our second time around, or is it just that life has suddenly become so much more complex? Maybe a little of both.
Yesterday we got Tam's U.S. visa in what was a pretty anti-climactic experience at the consulate. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad there was nothing exciting about obtaining a U.S. visa for our daughter. When we adopted Anh, the U.S. was still requiring 2 interviews here in Vietnam, the first for a I-600 approval and the second to apply for the visa. At that time, it was very nerve wracking because the interviewer at the consulate seemed to try to give all families a really hard time. Your appointment might be at 1:30 and you would arrive at 1:00, only to find out that he was on a break. Then you might sit around for a couple hours before he was ready to grill you. The torture would commence and you would begin to wonder what you had done wrong and why your country was treating you like a criminal.
This time, we arrived at our appointed time, paid for our visa, and then 15 minutes later signed some paperwork and were approved. Amazing! And, we had Tam's visa in our hand 2 hours later. They have definitely streamlined the process on this end of things. I had been concerned about someone questioning Tam's age, since on paper she is 10 months old, but in reality she is more like 14 months old. Pretty obvious when you see her, but they didn't even blink an eye.

Today was our last full day in Vietnam and Patrick and I spent the day trying to finish up last minute shopping. We have determined that prices of goods and food have gone up between 30-50% since we were here 2 years ago. Still quite inexpensive compared to U.S. standards, but growing ever closer to our prices. It is also interesting to note that you still see the same exact wares in shops here that were available 2 years ago. The more thing change.....

Well, we are on a plane tomorrow night and will be back in the U.S. on Saturday evening, West coast time. Hopefully, when we are home, the internet will be a bit better and we can start to post some more of our pictures!