I can still remember the distinct smell of the street vendors’ fresh food and the sound of busy traffic as if I was New York City, except  I was actually halfway around the world in China. Today was the day I was finally going to adopt my baby sister. I had waited so long since the day my mom and dad first told me we were going to adopt a baby girl from China.

I had just come home from daycare and was playing alone in my playroom having a tea party by myself.

“Kele come sit down. Dad and I have something to tell you!” my mom yelled from the living room, interrupting my playtime with my Barbies.

“What?” I yelled back, annoyed that I had to stop playing with my toys.

I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch between my parents. I thought I was in trouble, but the ebullient looks on their faces would say otherwise.

“How would you like to have a little sister to play with?” my mom asked me with excitement while looking at my dad and me.

“I would love a little sister!” I replied with just as much joy and excitement.

“Your mother and I are planning on adopting another baby soon, just like we adopted you,” my dad said with the biggest smile I had seen in a while from him.

I could not contain my excitement while I jumped up and down and squealed at the marvelous news. The long wait to go and adopt my new friend was already over a year, and each day I grew more impatient.

“Are we going yet? Are we going yet? Are we going yet?” I would bug my parents daily with the same question.

“You must be patient; we still have lots of important paperwork to do before we can go to China,” My mom answered annoyed with my never ending nagging.

Finally, after almost what seemed like an eternity for a four year old, the time had come. We boarded a huge airplane with many seats and headed on a long twelve hour flight to China. Every time I went to use the restroom on the plane, I made sure to let everyone know that I saw on the plane that soon I would have a new baby sister.

“I’m going to get my sister!”

“I’m going to be a big sister tomorrow!”

Everyone that I told on the plane looked very confused because my mom did not have a large round belly like most moms. I was frustrated that no one that I was telling seemed as excited I am.

“Can’t you see I’m adopted and I’m going to China to adopt my sister?” I replied in a sassy way to one of the people on the plane who looked confused.

The rest of the plane ride consisted of me blabbering to my parents about how I was going to spend the rest of my life playing with my sister and then sleeping because I was tired from all the talking I had been doing.

Finally, the plane landed, and I un-boarded the plane and stepped into the Chinese airport. Suddenly everyone looked like me; however, I could not understand a word people were saying around me. We then got into a big bus with other parents who were adopting babies and headed on a two hour bus ride to the adoption agency. Everyone looked exhausted from the long plane ride we had earlier, but the joy on everyone’s faces surpassed the tired looks.

I can’t remember the rest of the long bus ride except for the fact that I fell asleep holding the stuff bunny I had picked out for my little sister before the trip. Soon, the translator told us that we had arrived. I realized I was one step closer to seeing my sister for the first time, and excitement quickly changed to nerves.

What if she doesn't like me? What if she doesn’t want to play with me? What if she speaks like the other people in China? Will she be able to talk to me? The many thoughts ran through my mind, and I grabbed my parents’ hands and squeezed them as hard as I could.

We walked into the agency, and they gave us a tour of the orphanage where we saw many babies who were still waiting on a mom or dad to adopt them. Suddenly, I was reminded of my time in the orphanage where I would wait patiently for someone to come and adopt me.

All of the parents were then called into a big conference room where we were served by tea and warm dumplings by some women worked for the agency. We sat around a large table while each family waited anxiously to meet their new bundles of joy.

The room was soon filled with tears, both from the crying babies and the crying parents as the babies were brought into the room. Each family’s last name was called to come and meet their new baby. I waited eagerly as our family was one of the last families to be called.

“The Johnson family!” One of the nannies called out.

I hid behind my parents nervously, and soon my new baby sister was in my mom’s arms. Tears filled both my parents’ eyes.

“Kele, this is your new sister Ava. Would you like to hold her?” my mom asked cautiously, setting the baby on my lap.

I gave her the bunny I had been holding, and she looked me in the eyes and took the bunny and stuck it right in her mouth. I laughed and could not stop staring at my new sister whom I had waited for what seemed like forever to meet.