During the Olympics
There still seems to be no clear agreement on what is going to happen with the adoption process during the Olympics.
Many agencies say nothing will stop, that referrals and travel will continue as long as you won’t need to go to Beijing. Many say that referrals will continue as normal but travel will not happen during the Olympics. Some say that everything will stop for a few weeks, both matching and travel. And some say that it is still not clear what will happen.
I agree with the final group, by the way.
Travel within Beijing will be severely restricted during the Olympics and it isn’t clear to me that the CCAA employees will even be able to get to their office. Bus routes will be diverted to take people to and from venues, and the use of personal cars will be restricted.
As for parents being able to travel, the theory goes that as long as you stay away from Beijing you’ll be okay, but in reality there are going to be events all over China. The equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong, which is just over the border from Guangzhou, where all Americans have to pass through. Many families fly into and out of Hong Kong, but the prices are going to be outrageous during the Olympics since there are Olympics events happening there. If there are even any seats left open by then.
I guess what I’m saying is that at this point in time I don’t believe it is clear how thing are gong to work. There are many agencies saying “The CCAA says”, but too many of them say something different. Which means that in reality they are saying “our contact at the CCAA says”. And since the various contacts at the CCAA seem to be saying something different, my guess is that the CCAA hasn’t officially decided anything yet, either.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:53 am
RQ what is your guess on when and how much you think airline tickets will go up to? We have a 1-13-06 LID and we are thinking are cost could go up several thousands. Thanks Lisa
March 21st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I was asking myself the same question with an lid of jan 12/06. Lisa I believe we will have our referral at the beginning of may and travel second or third week of june. Last time I checked I saw the Olympics llisted as Aug 8-24th. I think fuel prices and extra baggage fees is more what we are going to have to worry about.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Surely the olympics will be based in the city?? Will this affect the orphanages in the countryside unless unneccessary travel is banned?? I must admit that I think the fares probably will get pretty expensive!!
Lisa you must be so excited now… I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!
March 21st, 2008 at 12:44 pm
dixierufus Thanks yes we are very excited. lisa
March 21st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
In addition to the Olympics, the price of fuel is driving up the prices of airline seats. We are anticipating traveling between May and July and put in random dates in travel search engines — the costs for coach seats range from $2,400 to $2,800, although a few — with several stops — were in the $1,700 range. (AND just for fun, we checked 1st class — which would be wonderful if we wanted to spend $25,000 per ticket — one and a half months BEFORE the Olympics, mind you, not right before them!)
My DH also reminded me that flights will be more expensive the six weeks prior to and immediately following the Olympics, as teams and sponsors will be getting to China early to get acclimated to time and temperature (and, heh, the air quality).
We traveled last in November ‘06 and got our flights for under $1,000 each. So jumping to over $2,000 will be quite a bit more.
BTW, mine is one of the agencies who says travel will go on as usual, except for those families whose children are from around Beijing. I really don’t believe them, but they haven’t heard differently, so that’s their position now.
Of course, in the end, it really won’t matter. We’ll pay whatever it costs to get to our daughter and back home again.
March 21st, 2008 at 1:24 pm
My Agency reported that the CCAA said no travel during the olympics and very little if no work being done at the CCAa. Cutting down on traffic and pollution in Beijing and both Hong Kong and Beijing airports are expected to carry the people coming in for events in both places.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I don’t see why referrals in August would have to be interrupted because of the Olympics, but would imagine travel for August referrals will be delayed. The Olympics start on the 8th. Referrals usually come out the first of the month.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
good point, WaitingforAugust.
i’m thinking it’s the September referrals that will be late, small, or skipped.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
People getting TA during that time are probably better off waiting anyway. Same week plane tickets to China (regardless of the region) are going to sky rocket during the month of August, and there will be plane delays beyond normal, possibly causing people to not get to their destination on the correct day. It will be a mess, as well as added expense that I would much prefer spending on my child instead of a rat race.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I agree with eli. If CCAA employees can’t get to their offices from Aug. 8-24 (or even Aug 1. to Sept. 1, with all the travelers), then Sept. referrals could easily be delayed or skipped altogether.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Keep in mind that for several weeks before the Olympics officially begin, the international press will assuredly be traveling to China which means that there will be less seats available on most flights.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:29 pm
My social worker said not to expect travel or referrals. She said that was her opinion, she said you can’t really know for sure yet. I hope they at least keep working on referrals, but who knows?? I came home today after feeling very down and our updated I-797C was in the mail. I’ll take it as a sign that even after this horrible, stressful wait, I’ll get my baby(even if it is 2011). Good luck to everyone expecting a referral around the Olymics. I REALLY REALLY hope they let people go.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Remember that airlines do give and adoption discount. Maybe they will keep prices reasonable for the adoption travel if you have the documentation.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:59 pm
My large China only agency said that since we don’t need to travel thru Beijing that travel will continue during the Olympics. They’re the kind of agency that doesn’t tell you anything unless they’re certain and they seemed pretty certain in what they were saying was fact. We shall see……
March 21st, 2008 at 9:38 pm
When we put our application in on August 15, 2005 I didn’t know or care who was hosting the Olympics in 2008. Now I just want them to be over. I don’t like feeling that way because I usually really enjoy them, but this one’s gonna hurt.
Big Daddy
LID 3/21/06 (today’s our 2 year LID anniversary. It’s time to “celebrate” with an anniversary single malt scotch.)
March 21st, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Remember – you have to have a visa issued by the Chinese consuate to go to China. With the olymics going on that will be 20X the number of “extra” travelers – from a purly practical stand point – I would not count on travel in August.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 am
Just for grins, I searched for plane tickets throughout the month of August. To Beijing, tickets were in the $2500 range. I honestly thought they would be more than that. I’m with Big Daddy – we never thought the Olympics would be an issue. Of course, they won’t be now – we will be traveling at least a year AFTER the Olympics. UGH.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:23 am
Hi, This is my first itme commenting. For those of you who might have to deal with the Olympics, I hope it goes well. My children’s lid is 1/10/06 so we are getting extremely excited. I want to know how to say thank you to the mother of Glittergirl and Twinkletoes for keeping us informed and sane during this long wait.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 am
I am just going to toss this out here.
Does anyone think that the “new regulations” have anything to do with the upcoming Olympics?
We used _______. When the new regs came out, after our adoption. Out of curiousity I called to chat with our coordinator. Her opinion was that the new regs were placed so that the system would slow down decreasing the media’s oppurtunity to emphazie the need for adotion in China.
What are your feeling on this…..thanks
Agency name removed by RQ – please do not name agencies.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
There may never be an actual decision from the CCAA on this issue. It may be viewed as more of a logistical issue that the adoption agencies will have to deal with. Besides, the nature of the bureaucracy in China is to never issue a decision until the last moment because someone higher up might issue a contradictory decision.
In conversations with our agency, it appears to be more to their discretion to make the decision whether or not to send travel groups. Hefty increases in airline fares and hotel rates may simply make travel during that period prohibitively expensive for many, even if you can bypass Beijing in the process. Not to mention the available airline seats are disappearing rapidly.
With our 1/12/06 LID, hopefully this will not be an issue. Assuming any reasonable progress in this next month, we have an excellent chance of referral in May. And, who knows lightning might strike and April could happen.
The Farmer From Iowa
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
RQ, there is something that I still don’t understand and maybe you can or someone else highlight me : Why agency’s contact at the CCAA are saying different things? If they are working for the same employer they should have the same “wording” and transmit the same info, no? It is not in the interest of the CCAA to have many different information going around?
Thank you
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Hello All,
I have a LID of 23 Jan 2006 which most likely puts me in the thick of this conversation. We have a definate chance of getting our referral in early June with travel dates of early August. Do I hope that I get our referral one month later? No way and so very much yes at the same time. I am quite scared that the frequent flyer miles we have accumulated to use will be of no use.
When someone from our first adoption travel group (back in March 2004) asked if we would be back for the olympics I said no way. Now, it very much looks that way.
Oh well perhaps we will go to Hong Kong and see some of it for our selves!
Pickalilly
Happy Easter
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
We had a problem during our first adoption (Dec ‘06) and needed interaction with the CCAA to resolve it. Believe me, there is NO WAY I would even consider scheduling the provincial side of the adoption – even far, far away from Bejing – if the CCAA was closed!! If something went wrong, or you needed additional approval or information or basically ANY interaction with the CCAA you’d be stuck in limbo until the offices opened back up!
Kate
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:05 pm
No one is happy about one more delay – however, remember that at least some of the infrastructure will be improved as a result of the Olympics – personally, I’d prefer to travel in September over August any time – less heat, less crowds. Just a thought – my LID is 01-19-06. Never even thought it would happen until this month.
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 am
You know….it’s funny how things happen sometimes….Back in 2005 when we were submitting our dossier and looking at timelines I said “Thank god we’ll be in/out of China well in advance of the Olympics. I don’t want to think how that will affect the program.”
Here I am….stuck right in the heart of it. Our LID is Feb. 9/06 and we “expect” a referral in August. Never would have thought in a million years when we submitted our dossier we’d be dealing with this.
That said…we are. And based on what our agency is telling us…we still think we’ll be getting a referral in July/August but won’t be able to travel until likely early October. I would imagine September referrals will be late coming out due to the Olympics.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Regarding costs of flights during the olympic period, you need to check the airlines low-shoulder-high season dates. One airline that flies through Asia & on to China has marked their high season as 1 JULY to 07 SEPT 08 – right before and after the Olympics. Obviously high season adds many hundreds ($$) on to the price. Other airlines have different “high” period dates around the olympics, so it really depends on each airline.
Either way, if CCAA let you travel around the olympics period I don’t think you’ll have much choice in what airline is cheapest, think it will be a matter of whatever you can get flights on at a reasonable price …….although I’d love to be proven wrong!!
March 24th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Completely off subject, but I wanted to encourage (warn)families considering concurrent adoptions to make sure they fully understand the process. We almost made a HUGE error because of a misunderstanding.
With many agencies, you CAN keep your application in China AND submit an application to another program. HOWEVER, upon referral of a child from the other program, YOUR APPLICATION IS WITHDRAWN FROM CHINA. We didn’t realize this when starting to pursue a concurrent adoption.
PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR AGENCY FULLY OUTLINES THE PROCESS FOR YOU. Fortunately, ours did; and saved us a lot of future heartache.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Just to put some perspective to this…don’t panic.
We have been to the Olympics a few times. We were always able to get a flight and a hotel. We were even able to use freqflier miles! Driving was rarely a problem. In Salt Lake City, we were easily able to park downtown! It was not crazed.
DO keep in mind that the events do NOT take place in one area. For example, in SLCity, the high profile sports (like ice skating) and the medal ceremonies (there was one every night…easy to get a ticket, easy to get into, etc…again, not mayhem) and other sports like ski jump, hockey, curling etc were in cities that were anywhere from 1-4 hours away from Salt Lake City. The sports take place where there is an appropriate area/arena. It IS possible that the games will extend to cities far from Beijing, and it should be easy to google and find out where the sports will be now. It is unlikely that planes will be overbooked, hotels sold out, throngs of crowds in the streets (OK, there are crowds in the streets in Beijing on an average day :)) JMHO…from Olympic experience…they may hold referrals/travel until after, but if they don’t, there is no need to panic. :)
March 24th, 2008 at 9:58 am
The referrals are coming or not this week ?
21-03-2006
March 24th, 2008 at 10:29 am
……based on the recent news events in Tibet..one hopes this does not turn into a Tinnenenaum (?) Square……The Olympics would be the least of our worries….
March 24th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Don’t forget that while US adoptive families exit China via Gaungzhou, many other countries exit China via Beijing. Housing during the Olympics will be at a minimum, and the hotels will be charging HUGE amounts, not to mention the difficulty traveling around the city during that time. How in the world can adopting families from Spain, Germany, etc. secure travel and housing in Beijing with just a few short weeks notice during the Olympics? I can not imagine that the CCAA would process referrals and travel for US adoptive families, but make other countries wait until after the Olympics.
Oh course, while I say this, I am reminded how now it appears that different Provinces will now be charging differing amounts for their Orphanage Donation, so I suppose anything is possible in this bizarre world of International Adoption. Ugh.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Hey, TrulyBlessed- We traveled in June of ‘05 and tix (for the International flights) were $2500/each and again in June of ‘07 and tix were $2200/each (saved $$$ the second time by booking our own travel). I suspect if travel does continue during the Olympics you could very well see prices higher than what we paid since you will be booking your travel just a few weeks out, and not months ahead of time. Since you won’t be traveling to Beijing lets hope this is NOT the case, though!
March 24th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Completely off subject, but I wanted to encourage (warn) families considering concurrent adoptions to make sure they fully understand the complete process. Our understanding was that we could keep our application in China, bring another baby home through a different program, and then continue with our China adoption. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. Once we received a referral from the other program, OUR APPLICATION WOULD BE WITHDRAWN FROM CHINA. I’m learning now that most agencies/programs operate their concurrent adoptions the same way; which leads to my confusion. Haven’t other families written that they are completing an interim adoption and still getting to keep their application in China?
March 24th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
…my post is not posting again….based on recent news coming from China and Tibet…I hope it does not grow to a Tinnenuem (?) Square situation…the Olympics will be a minor thing we have to deal with and China….
March 24th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I think my computer is still on holiday…messages don’t seem to want to go through :)
March 24th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Okay, let’s try again…completely off topic, but can someone please explain how concurrent adoptions work? Are the rules agency specific? We tried to do a concurrent adoption but were told that our application would be withdrawn from China upon the referral from another program. Other families are saying that they can complete both. We’re confused.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
RQ-
Can we please make “Concurrent Adoptions” a topic one of these days? We would so love to have an explanation of how concurrent adoptions work and hear from families who have chosen to go this route.
Thank you so much!!
LID Feb 07
March 24th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Today on abc.com in the news section there is an interesting article about the Olympics. There is a movement to boycott the Olympics. The article does not mention anything about adoptions, but China is under scrutiny for its human rights violations.
March 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Dear RQ: do you have any new information about the dates which are included in this batch this month??
March 24th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
A sign? Lady Bug sighted this afternoon in my kitchen. Hopefully we’ll hear about referrals soon!
March 25th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Findinghope, China allows concurrent adoptions. It’s an agency policy whether to allow the China adoption to proceed. At our large China-only agency, there must be one year between placements. There is a lot of confusion surrounding this, and there are a lot of threads on this in the forums.
Best,
Patti
Celia, 16 months, adopted domestically with China agency’s blessing
LID: 3/21/06
March 25th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Thanks Patti. We were very disappointed to find out that we couldn’t proceed with both adoptions (our agency doesn’t allow it), but there was a very positive side to all of it. When in the situation where we had to choose, it really reaffirmed for us how much we want to stick with China. It may take a million years, but the thought of having our application withdrawn was something we knew we couldn’t do. So here’s to 2012??? :)
LID Feb 07