Day One in Kunming

It feels so incredibly good to be here. Yesterday and-a-half-was really long. By the third leg, it felt almost torturous, but I have to say that we had some comical moments in between.  About an hour into our Beijing flight, the flight attendant says over the intercom, "James Murphy please ring your call button."  Our reaction was priceless. I just kept staring at the light panel on the ceiling of the plane waving my arm around in a lame attempt to find that elusive button. Jimmy looked like he'd seen a ghost, and we were both in a near-panic. Couldn't imagine why they needed him, and our hearts were pounding. The mystery was solved when the flight attendant walked toward him with a tray. We'd forgotten that he'd ordered a special meal when we purchased our tickets a month ago, and then we had changed our seats at the ticket counter in Detroit. As he says now, he thought they were going to send him out of the plane in a parachute for some reason. I think it must've been funnier than it actually sounds, but we were hysterical over it.

When we finally landed in Kunming last night, we were seriously done. Apparently more than a few people on the plane were done, too, because a man who Jimmy describes as "a Chinese mountain man" bolted up to the front of the plane before we were completely stopped at the gate. When the male flight attendant chased after him, he hit the ground and balled up into fetal position as if that were going to make it all okay and allow  him remain at the front of the plane. No such luck. They escorted him back to his seat. Again, we were in tears at the craziness of it all. Jet lag does that to a person!

Unfortunately, there were three exits out of baggage claim at Kunming Airport (one of the most beautiful airports we've ever seen), so it took us a while to find our guide. We were so relieved when we finally found him after pushing our cart around for ten minutes. Thankfully, this isn't our first rodeo, so we weren't terribly freaked out, just tired.

We rolled in around 11:00 and took showers once we got to the room. The two of us smelled like a couple of goats...actually worse. I think we might've even offended a goat, if that's possible. Those showers totally gave us what we needed to relax, along with some melatonin and by around midnight we hit the pillows. We managed to get a decent night's sleep and woke up feeling very refreshed. We really wanted to Facetime the kids at 7:00 a.m., which we did, and then we went down to the breakfast buffet. It was awesome. I'm not sure we've ever had a bad one on our China trips, actually!  

When we went back up to the room I put together the gifts for the orphanage children and workers. I also spread out all of the things we brought for Joseph. Do you think we have enough stuff for him??

There is a beautiful park across the street. We were told by our guide that Kunming means "Eternal Spring," and it is unique because the center of the city has a lake and the city is surrounded by mountains. It really is gorgeous. The Chinese culture is so neat. The park was filled with groups of people singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments. There is a little amusement-type park there, too! We know a little someone who will be on those rides this week!

 

 

After the park, we decided that it would be a good idea to scope out our church for tomorrow, so we ventured out and found Trinity Christian Church nearby. They have a 10:00 service that is half English, so we'll definitely go. We then walked about five miles checking out all the shops, convenience stores, and everything in between. It was a fun and active day. 

We agree that we are so glad we came in two days early. As the day has progressed, we are both fading fast. We attempted to go for an authentic Chinese meal for dinner, but ended up walking out of three places (embarrassing) because we just couldn't make a decision, LOL. We decided that it was not the night, and that an authentic meal might be much more enjoyable when our guide is around to help us order! There are not many English speaking people in the city, but they are very kind and they really do try. We ended up in the hotel lobby restaurant and ordered a club sandwich and pizza. The waitress, at one point, asked Jimmy if he wanted another beer, and he replied, "Si."  As she walked away, he looked at me in a daze and asked, "Did I just say Si??"  LOL...we were laughing hysterically again. Now we are back in the room relaxing. We know that we need another good night of sleep so we can be rested and ready to receive our son on Monday!!! Jimmy and I are so drawn to all of the little kids here.  We can't wait to meet ours!