After 26 hours of travel and one very bumpy landing in Kunming, we have arrived and are settled in to the hotel. The trip was really exhausting and I'm super thankful that we won't get on another plane for a week. We stayed last night (got in middle of the night) in Guangzhou at a beautiful hotel near the airport and I was so happy for a comfy bed. The flight today was only two hours long but it was the first flight where English was not the language catered to on the plane. We met up with our guide XiXi before the flight and she's going to be a huge help. She already has helped; reminding us to save our forks that came with the airplane meal for other dining in Kunming when forks will not be available! Nathan and I thought that was so funny.
The plane was very crowded on the way to Kunming, partly it sounds like because yesterday was Moon Festival here in China. It is the second largest holiday celebrated in China, after New Year. The families spend the afternoon having a meal together as a family and then once it is dark, they go outside to view the full moon, either to parks or other scenic locations. The tradition goes back to the celebration of the rice harvest and this is the first year that it is over the course of three days, so today (Monday) is a holiday in China as well. Also, I wanted to mention that even though the posting will say that I wrote this on Sunday, we are one day ahead of everyone in the States, so it's actually Monday midafternoon here.
We are so thankful to be spending the bulk of our time in Kunming. Guangzhou and Tokyo were just miserably hot yesterday and Kunming is called the city of "eternal spring". The weather is basically 70 degrees yearround. Apparently there are many things to see in Kunming, as it is where many Chinese come for vacation. We are in the city which has a population around 4 million people. Virtually everyone lives in apartments here and for someone who has a job with a company, a benefit is being able to buy an apartment for around 3,000 American dollars. They are all around 800 square feet. We passed by a Christian church on our way to the hotel which is run and regulated by the government. Right out our hotel is the green lake which XiXi seemed excited for us to see. We are apparently the fourth family in the past 3-4 years to adopt in this province (Yunnan) with Harrah's.
XiXi said that the orphanage where Solomon is listed is a very big orphanage with hundreds of children there. Also, many of the orphanages are "people's welfare institutes" which will house both orphans and the elderly together. We found out that we will be able to go to Sol's finding place because in Kunming, all children are given their surname by the area where they were abandoned and found by the authorities. So his finding place is in the Song neighborhood and tomorrow, XiXi may be able to find the exact location when we go to Civil Affairs. So every child found in this neighborhood would have his same surname. His name Xiao Ming is given by the caregiver/nanny who took care of him. Apparently Ming is very common here for boys and the name together means "little bright". Depending on how he is handling the adjustment, we will probably refer to him by his nickname, most likely "Ming Ming".
Tomorrow morning we will meet at Civil Affairs office at 8am and will receive him by 8:30am. Then we will have all day to adjust to each other and I am praying that he will feel peaceful about the situation. I asked XiXi how many children are happy instantly with the change and she said that there are almost always tears and really no happy, just varying degrees of unhappiness. So I guess we are hoping for a mild unhappiness.
Jed, Alice and Charlotte... Mommy and Daddy love you and already miss you so much! We will talk soon. Be good for Grandma and Grandpa. XOXOX
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