We arrived in Hong Kong a couple of nights ago. It takes about 24 hours of travel time from our *old home* in North Carolina to our *new home* in Hong Kong. It was the longest, yet the shortest, day I've had in a long time! We brought eight (yes, 8!!!) suitcases with us, plus four smaller bags! We became those over packers yesterday...normally it bugs me, but we didn't have much of a choice this time! It's different packing when you are moving versus when you are visiting.
Makena has a bad case of the terrible two toddler jet lag...ugh! She is beyond unruly (you would absolutely not recognize her) and unable to sleep past midnight. So...I am wandering around Causeway Bay at all hours of the night. For the record, the 7-11 that is two blocks west and one block south of here has by far the best selection of kid-friendly snacks! There is also a 24-hour Burger King a few blocks away. Yes, I fed her Burger King at four this morning and sat upstairs with several homeless/drunk? people who obviously viewed us as a tourist attraction! That's okay though...Makena and I seem to be a tourist attraction just about everywhere we go! She is quite an attention getter - especially if she has a bow in her hair for some reason! Loads of looks and comments in Cantonese. You can just tell they are talking about us! It's okay though; adoption is not a common thing in China, nor is it truly accepted. We know that we will also have at least twice as much of this when our other daughter finally comes home. It will be two white parents, a Chinese daughter, an African daughter, and a Filipino (probably?) helper! For a place where 95% of the population is native Cantonese and probably a good portion of the remainder is Asian, we definitely stick out!
Our new flat will be ready on Monday and we cannot wait to get there! I don't think that we will actually move in until Tuesday, since we are hoping to move in on the same day as our air shipment arrives (cross your fingers that it arrives soon!). I finally found a hair dryer and we are shopping around for a few other necessities this weekend. None of our small electronic things work here, so we need to start from scratch. Our first order of business will be starting the process to order black-out curtains for the bedrooms! It takes 10 days to get them though - we will probably be those people with aluminum foil on Makena's windows! Ugh! The bedrooms have windows to the ceiling and you can see in other people's rooms (which means they can see in ours too!). The thought of someone watching my child in her room just creeps me out...hence, the aluminum foil. What a great way to make a first impression in our building!
We will spend this weekend furniture shopping and hope to be mostly finished by the end of the weekend.
Roaming with a purpose...
