We are in Urumqi

Urumqi: Pronounced Oo-Roo-Moo-Chi or Woo-Loo-Moo-Chi....
So, we've been mispronouncing it for the last 9 months. Better late than never, i guess :)
It was about a 4 hour flight from Beijing and Cindy was the only Caucasian on the fully booked flight. It's funny how everyone stares at her. But I now exactly what they're thinking.... 'How did she get so lucky to end up with such a handsome Asian husband' LOL.

On the flight there was a Uighar man and woman with a 2 yr old boy. The  boy could pass for Kai's little brother. He was very cute and pretty well behaved. When we got in, our guide, Lily was waiting outside of the baggage claim. We are the only one's in the group which is kind of cool. Lily informed us that Kai is THE first adoption from the Kashgar orphanage EVER. The orphanage director will be flying in with Kai a little later and she is very nervous. Apparently because she's never done this before. All the paperwork says that Kai is Han Chinese, but when we showed Lily his picture, she could tell immediately that is not the case. He looks Uighur.

Urumqi is very smoggy although you could see some blue sky, here and there. (Unlike Beijing). During this time of the years many of homes burn coal to stay warm which could account for some of the smog. We are staying at the Hoi Tak hotel which is nice and clean. The pool requires everyone to wear a swim cap for sanitary reasons. We checked in and Lily immediately escorted us to Wangfujing, a huge department/grocery store just a couple blocks from the hotel. There we bought snacks and bottled water. We then came back to the hotel to do some paperwork. Interestingly, one of the documents mentions that once we get Kai, we have a several hour return policy. This is something different from our last adoption.

We went next door to a 24 hour Muslim restaurant and Lily ordered shish kebabs, bread and noodles for us. The food is very inexpensive. About $1.50 per dish, which is awesome. Really tasty too. Lily explained that the food is very similar to Chinese food.... just no pork. And lots of lamb.

Outside our hotel is a large common square where people gather to exercise, roller blade and hang out. We were able to film a large group of women and a few men doing "Chinese Line Dancing". It is great to see that exercise is still a component of peoples daily lives. I must admit the people in Urumqi appear to be thinner than those in Beijing. We have yet to see any fast food chains here.

Because Monday is a big Muslim holiday in this province, all the government offices are closed.  Lily was able to convince them to 'do the deal', otherwise we would miss our appointment with the American Consulate in Guangzhou on Saturday. Because of the holiday, we will not be receiving Kai at an official government office, which is customary here, but at a photo mart down the street from the hotel. Were we will be taking our official family photo and passport photo for Kai.

Right now it is 8am Monday morning and it's still dark outside. The whole country of China follows one time, but a lot of locals here follow the actual time zone, which is 2 hours behind Beijing. We will meet Lily in the hotel lobby at 10am. We have a backpack full of toys and coloring supplies for Kai and I'm trying to figure out the plan when we receive him. I think we will keep it simple... maybe just 1 gift immediately to break the ice. Probably the stuffed dinosaur that Sophie sent for him. Then later he'll get all the goodies. This way, hopefully he will be able to be more conscious of everything that is going on during this extraordinary time.
More to follow later....