Today is the “Welcome Party” at BHSFIC. It’s raining, and I’m wearing a suit, so I taxi over. It’s really hot and humid today. I arrive about 8:15, and head up to my classroom to test all the sound equipment and the projector. Everything works so I had down to the auditorium for the program.

All the students and staff are seated in the auditorium. There are several student speakers, and the principal and Dr. Prettyman speak. All the speeches are in Chinese and then tranlated into English. The faculty is introduced. There are some musical numbers and some dancers. The end of the program is a group of the Chinese faculty dancing. It’s a big hit!!!

These are the new faculty members at BHSFIC

After the session, there’s a short faculty meetingl After the meeting, we’re released, and a small group head over to a restaurant in the Xidan area. It’s a relaxing time with some really good fried rice and dumplings. I enjoy listening to the new teachers talk about their experiences in the new country. After lunch, we ride the bus back to school. I grab my backpack and start searching for a taxi. I’m still wearing a suit, and it’s really hot. I don’t want to crowd on a train, dressed like this.

Back at the apartment, Judy’s been taking care of schoolwork and planning for the week. We were planning on going out and getting some dinner later in the afternoon, but it starts raining really hard, so our plans change. We end up eating some of the food we have in the apartment and finishing “Scandal” season 3. I’m glad to be through with that for a while. Maybe it will get better next season.

We’ve been working on our travel plans for the end of the month. The National Day Holiday for BISS begins Saturday, Sept. 27, and extends to Oct. 5. It’s a Chinese Holiday, so we’re trying to find a spot outside of China. We finally got confirmation on a week-long trip to Malaysia. It’ll included Kuala Lumpur, then a trip into the Malaysian Highlands and a colonial plantation. The last several days will be spent on a private island in a villa on stilts over the ocean. We are pumped!

Our project for the day is to get a deposit transferred to the travel company. We walk over to our nearby Bank of China outlet, and get it completed. While we’re there we run into a couple of teachers from BISS. They’re setting up an online account. I tried it when we first arrived last year, but the BOC website wouldn’t run on a Mac. When they finish, the clerk helps us set-up our online account. This is big news for me. Until now, I could only check the account at an ATM machine. Now I can check it from the comfort of our apartment. If I understand the process, I’m going to be able to make transfers from the account from home also.

Back home later, we finish up some chores, watch some “Scandal” episodes and order food in from Avocado Tree. We really enjoy dinner, but “Scandal” is getting tiresome. I enjoyed Season 1, and about half of Season 2. Season 3 is the same thing, episode after episode. They have to solve problems they’ve created for themselves, over and over, and over and over, and over and over.

Judy has an assembly today. The 5^th graders are performing. They have a great performance! Judy has said several times what an unusual group they are. The girls enjoy the singing and dancing, of course. The boys in the group also enjoy it, and she’s been having a blast working with them.

I go out for a bike ride, not really sure where I’ll go. When I get on, I realize I have a really low bike tire. It’s been low before, so I’m going to have to get it fixed. First I ride over to the nearby corner bike tech and get my tire aired up. Then, I ride over to a “Giant” bike shop. The bike I have is a “Giant”, and I’ve had several small issues I want them to check out. My brakes have been spongy, so they adjust them, “no charge.” Then I have them replace the rear tube. It costs $5, including labor, and takes 20 minutes.

I just missed a great picture of the little motorized bike cart. There were 9 workers on it, headed to their next landscaping job. That’s a water hose hanging off the back.

While they’re working on the tire, I walk over to nearby Sanyuanli Market, and buy some nuts. Judy’s been craving peanuts, so I stocked up on regular peanuts, and also some “hot” peanuts she really likes. As I’m leaving the market, I have to stop off in the bakery. It smelled too good, so I added some fresh bread to my bag. This market has everything, fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, bread, noodles, and even imports. It’s a series of small independent vendors, and some are pretty aggressive with the sales pitch.

One of the meat vendor shops in Sanyuanli. I think the long thing on the right is an oxtail.

With my bike, and my nuts and bread, I start back toward the apartment. I haven’t played table tennis lately. I’m carrying my equipment, just in case I had the time and the desire, so I adjust course and head over to the table tennis club. When I arrive it’s around 2:30 pm, and a really slow time. There are about 20 players scattered around. I walk in, find my usual area, get my stuff out, and wait for an opponent. A guy walks in, sets up his net, and sits down, waiting, but he seems to be waiting for someone. After about 20 minutes, the old guy who manages the club (and has sorta befriended me) walks by, sees us, and motions to the guy sitting next to me that I can play. He offers to play and we get started. We played almost 2 hours, and I’m worn out when I finally decide to leave. My game and reflexes are definitely better.

After the bike ride home, I shower and wait for Judy to get home. She gets in around 6:00, and we head over to Bluche for the Friday night social. No one is at Bluche. We walk across the plaza, and find the BISS group at BKOB, a similar restaurant. They have a better patio area, and we enjoy the remainder of the evening visiting with old and new faculty.

Today is a pretty quiet day. I made the rounds for groceries. I walked over to the local wet market and bought some fruits and vegetables. When I got home, I washed the vegetables, getting them ready for cooking later today.

I went over to Metro after lunch for my weekly “stocking up” visit. This is the best place for Diet Coke, cereal, cheese, and I’ve been buying our chicken breasts here the last few times.

Back home later, I cut up the chicken and prepared my “special sauce”. I marinated the meat and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. When I get everything cooked up later, it’s really good. I guess because of my use of Tabasco, it tastes closer to a Southwestern dish than an Asian dish. I’m not too particular what kind of dish it is. I’m too busy eating it.

It’s day two of the beginning instrument classes for the 6^th graders at BISS. The class meets at 11:30 today (8:20 am yesterday), so Judy goes to school at her regular time, and I arrive later. The students are enthusiastic and work hard. We have another good day and lots of fun.

After class, I ate at the nearby local Chinese restaurant, adding gunbao chicken to my green bean order. I plan to take advantage of my BISS visits to enjoy this restaurant.

Back at the apartment, Lily is working hard when I arrive. One of the BHSFIC teachers is trying to arrange for Lily to clean his apartment. I help Lily out with her email back to him. Her English is improving, but she still needs help putting together a sentence (however short). I wish I could converse in Chinese as well she does in English.

It’s possible I took a nap after Lily left. When Judy gets home, we eat supper, and watch a “Scandal” episode before heading to bed.

We both have to get going early today. I’m going with Judy to school to help with a 6^th grade instrumental music project. They are beginning a 12-week unit (two classes per week, 90 minutes per class) where they receive instructions on playing a band instrument. Since I’m available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, it made sense for me to help Judy out. The school owns some instruments, so Judy made the initial instrument assignments and we split into a brass class (3 trumpets and 2 trombones) and a woodwind class (3 clarinets, four flutes, and 5 saxes). Scott Lindner, the high school music teacher is teaching the brass class, and Judy and I are teaching the woodwind class.

The students worked very hard and made some nice progress by the end of class. The brass joined us for the last 10 minutes, and we performed for each other. This should be a lot of fun. It’s an introductory class, and after this series of classes, the students will move to art for the 2^nd trimester, and then PE for the last trimester. It’s not a great way to develop a band program as I know it, but for me, it’s nice to get back to teaching something I know and understand.

After class, I walked over to the nearby State Electric Grid office and paid to “load up” our apartment meter.   The clerk inserts the “electric card” into a computer, we pay whatever amount we want, and when I get home, the meter at the apartment shows the additional amount has been added. This can also be done at a bank near UHN, but this office is close to BISS. Next, I stopped at the nearby local Chinese restaurant for lunch. They have great green beans. After lunch, I taxi to BHSFIC for an afternoon faculty meeting. We finish around 3:00 pm. I’m still trying to find the cabinet where I stored music and some of my teaching supplies. It’s somewhere in the school, but the facilities manager, Edward, assures me he’ll find it.

Back at the apartment, I crash on the couch. I actually had to do some teaching today, and it wore me out. Judy joins some of her friends at Pete’s Tex-Mex after school to unwind a little. When she gets home, we talk over the class plan for tomorrow, and “hit the sack.”

Judy heads out to work, as usual. She’s begun to settle in on her morning walking schedule. She usually gets back to the apartment between 5:30 and 5:45, and finishes getting ready for school, so she can leave around 7:00 am. I’m doing some stretching and pushups every morning. I hope to start up the swimming next month. BISS changed their gym contract for employees from the Marriott to a Sheraton. It’s much closer to the school, but farther from the apartment. I’ve been looking for a swimming pool closer to the apartment. I think I’ve found one, and I’ll join Sept. 1.

When Lily shows up today, she goes with me to the apartment management office. She handles the translation and we try to pay for hot water. We’ve almost got the system figured out. We pay to load hot water on our hot water meters (we have two). Back at the apartment, the “hot water card” has to be pushed into a slot on the meter and held until the “whirring” sound stops, meaning it’s loaded. We also have a card that controls the meters for cold water and “flush” water. It hasn’t moved much in a year?   I paid on both cards in August 2013. So far, we’ve paid $270 total for our water for the apartment, and it could last until next summer.

After we settle the water purchase, I head over to BHSFIC for another rehearsal of the Orchestra Club. Jason, the club president, and Yelena (she wasn’t here yesterday) made it today. The other students didn’t make it. We spent about an hour playing through the arrangement, and talking about the students’ summer activities, as well as which universities they hope to attend next year. It’s interesting to hear their opinions about colleges, and what they’ll be doing this time next year.

After rehearsal, I take the train back home. It’s really hot today, so I make a stop at McDonald’s for an ice cream cone. They cost 4 yuan (65 cents). It’s just too cheap, and tastes too good for me to ignore.

I have a really full day of activities scheduled for today. I’m meeting some of the guys from BISS (James and Mark) at the Chaoyang Golf Club. It’s a 9-hole course. We have a lot of fun. It’s always interesting to play with a caddy, after years of schlepping my own stuff around a course, either on my back, on a pull-cart, or in an electric cart. They mark balls on the green, clean clubs and golf balls after each hole, provide yardage that’s accurate. Unfortunately, even with all that help, you still have to hit your own shots. I wasn’t great today, but I wasn’t awful, either.

It was a pretty day on the golf course

We finished at 11:45, and I hurried home. I ate, showered, changed clothes, and left the apartment by 12:45. I have a rehearsal at 1:30 with some of the BHSFIC Orchestra Club students. I take a taxi instead of the train because I’m running a little late, and I’m carrying my clarinet and a folding music stand, along with my full backpack. My plan is to leave them at school, and bring home the flute.

When I arrive, around 1:20, I get the flute out of the cabinet I’ve been using to store my school stuff, and head up to the auditorium for the rehearsal. There are four students today. We have a decent rehearsal on the arrangement I completed. It’s fun to talk to them about their summer experiences. Three of them went to the US for summer academic camps. After rehearsal, they tell me they’ve decided to rehearse Monday, as well. I head downstairs to lock up my clarinet and the music stand, and the entire teacher’s office area (8 desks, 6 cabinets, and all the stuff) has been moved for cleaning. I try to find where the cabinet went (it’s only been two hours), and no one seems to know. I finally give up and head home carrying everything I brought over, plus the flute.

Back home, Judy has stayed busy walking the neighborhood, checking out the two nearest mall areas. She’s looking for baby gifts for upcoming showers for BISS faculty. She had some luck, but is worn out. I’m tired myself, after walking the golf course and traveling over to BHSFIC and back. Dinner is delivery from “Avocado Tree”. It’s a copy of “Chipotle”, and we fully enjoy the evening watching Scandal, and eating our “Chicken Bowl”.

Grocery shopping at BHG in Capita Mall

One of the “kid play areas” in Capita Mall. Up on the 3rd floor there are several places like this where kids can play, for a fee.

Another weekend has arrived. We spend most of the morning trying to decide where to go on our first school break. It stretches from Sept. 27 to Oct. 5. There are lots of choices, but it’s only a month away. I’ve been waiting for our “summer travel” reimbursement to arrive before I book it (and it hasn’t arrived yet). We considered Australia, but it’s too far away (16 hour flight, through Singapore). We’re checking on Taiwan and Malaysia, and both have possibilities.

Judy has some running around to do during the day, and meets friends later in the evening in Sanlitun. The original plan involved husbands joining the group later, but a couple of them changed their mind, so it turned into a “girls night.” I spend the evening perusing travel destinations. We have to get our plans in place for February (Chinese New Year) and Spring Break. One thing we’ve learned is not to vacation in China during a Chinese holiday. Every destination is crowded. Every holiday, new records are set for the number of travelers on trains. As more and more Chinese enter the “middle class”, more are traveling.

One of the families of a BISS faculty member was returning for the start of school a few weeks ago (the husband had arrived earlier). Their flight into Beijing was turned back, landed in Shanghai, took off again and flew back to Singapore, flew back to Beijing, turned back again, etc. They finally made it to Beijing and were allowed to land and unload, but not before they spent 30 hours on the plane (the original flight was scheduled for 6 hours). They never were allowed off the plane, until their final arrival. They never got an explanation. We never heard about it on the news or anyplace else. In the US, it would have been a front-page story, with lawsuits and compensation discussions.

I managed to finish up my first arrangement today. It should have been simple, but I’m so slow. I should be quicker on the next one.

Judy has her first big assembly today. Her songs are a big success. Her constant search for music that is interesting and different, has allowed her to build a big digital library of great music for school groups and assemblies for almost any occasion.

There is a reception and meal this evening at BISS for all the faculty and staff of the school, and their families. The meal is catered by “Taj”, an established Indian restaurant here in Beijing. We had it a couple of times last year, and we’ve eaten at the restaurant several times, as well. The food is always great, and tonight is no different. I still don’t know what all of it is, but it sure tastes great.

It’s nice to see some of the “old” faces tonight. I haven’t seen many of them since we returned after the summer. It’s also a little strange to realize how many of the faculty we knew last year have left for retirement, or jobs in other cities and countries. It’s just part of the culture of the International Schools. People eventually move on. It’s so different than teaching in districts where there are many 25 to 30 year vets.