Sunday in Kunming

One question was how well was MeiLi going to do in China.  For example, were any smells or tastes or sights going to bring back painful memories, etc.  The outcome is so far she's loving it here.  She loves the food and the fruit and she just skips around all the time. 

She did have one moment where she got pretty homesick for her friends Kenna, Cole and Valerie.  Beyond that, she's all happy kid.

Sunday we woke up in Kunming.  Now that Holt and Lotus have taken control of the schedule, it means we're in a 5 star hotel.  That means BREAKFAST.  And this one did not disappoint - full on Asian and western breakfasts. 

It is kind of weird to badly need an anchor point (besides Jesus).  I confess that beyond my family around me, breakfast is it for me.  I don't care what happens during the rest of the day - I can get back to eat western food and recover.  This is a good reminder of how difficult it could be for Ying to transition over to the USA with us.  She could be more deeply rooted in China than MeiLi was.     

We were planning to go out to the Stone Forest.  But everyone was still getting hit pretty hard by jet lag.  So we went back to the room and crashed. 

Mid afternoon we went out looking for lunch.  We found a pizza hut.  Not as healthy as we ate in Beijing, but comfort food.  On the way back from lunch, we turned into a row of shops in an alley.  The first 50 or so shops were selling chops (jade or wood ink stamping blocks).  Why do you need so many?  Who gets past the first 10? 

Regardless, the great mall of Kunming went on and on for blocks, turn after turn, alley after alley.  We were there for 3-4 hours.  It rained on and off.  There was everything for sale - fans, belts, purses,
jewelry, clothing...  We all bought something.   

Then there were the little kids - the most fun thing about this place.  They would giggle wildly as the girls and Nate would kneel down and talk to them in Chinese.  A constant riot. 

The least fun were the pet shops.  Live animals (including birds, cats, puppies, bunnies, piglets(!), guinea pigs and a hedge hog) trapped in tiny cages. Pets are a new luxury in China, but without the ASPCA to help.

We came back to the room and found jet lag still hitting pretty fiercely.  I fell asleep about 7 and slept for 9 hours straight - until now, drafting this - up again at 4 AM.

We get Ying Skyelin this afternoon (Monday) between 3 and 6 PM.  Very exciting.