Slow boats to China

Thanks to continued interruptions from the men in my life it takes almost two weeks to even partially grasp our options for adopting from overseas. We are focussing our efforts in particular on either India, or China (both countries that are known for having high numbers of girls available to adopt).
While the boys play ‘jumping tunnels’ upstairs on the marital bed, I learn that we don’t fit the adoption criteria for India because we are not Hindus. By any stretch of the imagination. We could still apply for a child though, but would only be granted guardianship. Something else to research it seems. Converting does cross my mind. For about as long as it takes me to consider why Eastenders Bradley works in the city and still seems to live with Dot.
The good news is that we can maintain our 24-7 non-religious outlook on life (Christmas presents and Easter eggs aside) and still apply to adopt from China. China is the most popular country from which to adopt kids for us Brits, after the UK of course. It’s the Arsenal of the inter-country adoption league table. Yes – there is one. Having spent the best part of this summer (actually - was there one?), glued to the coverage of the Beijing Olympics, I already feel like I’ve dipped my toes into this alien culture. So total immersion into all things Chinese is the next step. And we have plenty of time to do this because at present the waiting time for a child from China is around 3 years. A fashionista mate remarks that this is around the same as the wait for a Hermes Kelly bag. What a world.