Lia with Xi Xi and Bob

Xi Xi and Bob are our guides and have been wonderful every step of the way. They have taken us everywhere, ordered our meals, and responded to any special requests any of us had. They even had to take one of our Dads to the Chinese hospital while we were in Changsha. The Chinese hospital isn't a pretty sight or so we were told, but it was a successful trip for Tim, our travel mate. He got the help he needed to finish the trip with his wife and new daughter. . Bob and Xi Xi also negotiated things for us, educated us on Chinese customs, food and historical events, and even waited in lines on many occasions so we wouldn't have to. They also did all of our paperwork and facilitated our adoptions, So they did much more than translate and coordinate, even though those were an important factors as well.     They told us that we were the most unusual group they have had in that we actually wanted to go out to eat every night and do "local" things. We never ate in the hotels at dinner (except on the very first night) and were always looking for new things to try. And each night, they came through with something new and interesting. We kidded that they would be happy when we were gone b/c we made them work too hard, and they were probably tired of seeing our faces - day in and day out! But they never seemed to mind and truly seem to care about all of our girls.   Lia loves both Xi Xi and Bob and they will always be very special to us.Even though our agency has officially closed and we are the last group to travel with them, we will keep in touch with Xi Xi and Bob and will always be thankful for the important role they have played in helping us complete our adoption and making our time in China as easy as it could have been. (Thanks to Betty and Patricia too for their hard work in putting this into motion!)