Another day gone by...

I had to look at my last post to remember what we did yesterday! The days tend to blend into one another and are going by so slowly, I feel as if we've been here forever. I'm glad, because this is a beautiful city and I just love to watch the people. There are not so good parts of course, but it's all part of the experience. Today we did the Kunming zoo, and to be honest, it was no great shakes. There were some little amusement rides we let the girls do a bit, but that was it. It kind of made me a little sad, because the animals don't have the elaborate enclosures we have in the US for our animals.

After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel and just had lunch and nap again. Then Jr and I took the girls to just sit on the street by the hotel and blow bubbles. That was a big hit; I even remembered the word for bubbles from when I first heard it in 2004; it's pronounced "pa-pow"; have no idea how to spell it.

Back to the Bluebird for dinner, another 210 RMB (the cheese pizza's kind of high, 68 RMB for a little 6-slicer, but good for 2 or 3 kids, maybe not older ones with big appetites though! Fish and chips,hamburger, fries, chef's salad are all good, and I absolutely have to recommend the fruit salad; they drizzle it with chocolate and peanuts so it tastes almost like a banana split without the ice cream; yum, yum!

Sent out our laundry today too; it's going to cost 400RMB; ouch! But we have a lot just because of all the girls' clothes; Jerry said the hotel would have been $100!

Judi continues to be a challenge, not so much in any bad respect; she's just so full of energy and adventure, it's hard to keep her still! We have to really work to get her to sit at a restaurant table for any length of time, and occasionally we'll but heads over something she wants, but so far, with persistence, it's coming slowly. She is such a happy kid and up for anything, so that makes it a little easier.

One thing I absolutely recommend is the Dynamic Yunnan show; an incredible display of minority tradition, dance, and song; don't I sound like a commercial? But it was just incredible; if you do nothing else in Kunming, do this; it's worth every panny. Seats are 400, 300,or 160 RMB; we chose the 300. I think the 160 would have been just fine, too, but we had great seats. The show is loud, so if you have little kids, cover their ears, and make sure they go potty BEFORE the show! For me, there was an added bonus; Judi of course got extra tired and by the end of the show, she was finally holding me in return and laying her head on my shoulder; I felt this was very good progress; I think she's still not totally trusting us quite yet. Then before bed, when we all asked, she willingly gave us all goodnight kisses! So sweet! Tonight was probably the first time I didn't feel like I was just "babysitting"; that she was really ours and we were hers. I've taken the advice of others before me and just do what Moms do; I know the deep feelings of love and trust will come in time on both sides.
Tomorrow we go to the orphanage; I'm a little worried how this will affect Judi; will see how it plays out.
It's late now, so good night!