AK TO KUNMING....FINALLY!

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We have finally made it to Kunming. Juneau seems like a very distant memory, but our departure almost didn't happen. Luckily our friends Kathy and Tim helped get us out the door and to the airport with only moments to spare. I will forever be in their dept for making me buck up, focus, and get our suitcases packed.


Our flights were on time, and uneventful. Thankfully.  It allowed us to sleep and refresh from close to 3 months of packing our house up.  We flew to Anchorage Friday nite, Aug 22, then took a 4:10 am flight to Taipei, connecting to Hong Kong later that morning, (a day ahead) and finally to Kunming, where we arrived around 2:30 pm Sunday afternoon.


We were met at the airport by our school liaison, whom we now call our school angel, Sophia, and about 45 minutes later arrived at our new residence at the Kunming College of Business Management. Quickly our 4 bags were carried up to our 2nd floor apartment; we were given a quick tour, some explanations on how to operate the various appliances and telephone, then left to settle in. Which has taken about 2 weeks, as every square inch of this place needed to be scrubbed down. But we had expected as much, so as of this writing, only the floor in my bedroom still needs a good washing.


The college is located quite a ways away from what is the Kunming downtown or city center. On the map, we are located above the K in the name Kunming City Map. The city center is the lake (Green Lake) sort of in the middle of what looks like a cobweb of streets. But we like this distance as it will allow us to do hiking and bike riding much more easily than if we had to negotiate the typically busy and treacherous downtown streets.


The campus is very nice, and is sort of like a gated community as there are watch guards at the 2 main entrances. Our apartment is also nice, and fairly spacious, but lacks an outside balcony which is used primarily for laundry drying. No dryers here!! So the windowed area of our living room will serve that purpose, where the clothes drying rack is appropriately placed. Have included some pics of our place to give you an idea of what it looks like. In the picture showing the outside of the building, we are the 2 windows on the second floor. One is our kitchen, the other Ya-Li's bedroom. Also, if you can believe it, for those of you who have seen my green tile bathroom, the one here in the apartment is also green tile! Who would have guessed! Walls are bare, at this point, but we hope to remedy that as soon as we get a chance to get out and do some fun type shopping. Up to this point all of our shopping has consisted of purchasing items to outfit the apartment, which did have beds and furniture but nothing else. Not even toilet paper! Thank goodness for those travel kleenix packs!


One small challenge which occured the first day, was to find out my classes were to start 2 days later, and not after the week we had been told would be allowed to settle in.  So fortunately my years of China living list serve reading prepared me that anything could and would happen. So with the flow we went. But a discussion of my classes and students will need to wait for a further post.


We are both elated to be here, and have fallen into the local lifestyle without much prompting. Ya-Li will begin her homeschool online classes tomorrow and I will begin week 3 of teaching. Perhaps one of the biggest pluses has been the warm weather. Low 70's every day. Haven't been out of my sandals since we arrived. Compared to this last year in Juneau, that has been utter bliss!!

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Comments

[Merritt]

Huanying!
Seeing your pictures and reading your feelings of elation at finally (FINALLY!) being in China bring back so many memories for me. I hope you fall in love with China just as I did (and somehow, I know you will....or already have). I am going to do my best to get back to China next summer, to visit my family and friends in Beijing, and to visit my family now living in Kunming!! (and Mom might come too)