There are several different “Professional Development” activities for Judy at school today. She is hoping to get a couple of technology tips from one of the sessions on phone apps. She’s done most of the work cleaning out her room, so not as much of that is happening today.

I did my usual morning and early afternoon activities. One thing I wanted to guarantee happened before we leave Beijing was a final visit to the doctor to get my knee drained. I’ve had this done twice previously, and it provided some nice relief from the twinges I get walking around town. With lots of tours ahead of us, I needed as much relief as I could get.

I called to set up an appointment sometime Friday or next week, and the doctor was available at 5:00 pm today. It worked out as all my other visits have. I arrived at the clinic, the doctor was waiting, reviewing my past visits. He offered to drain the knee (right) and I eagerly accepted. It was a fairly painless procedure and he pulled out a lot of fluid. As I was leaving, he handed me some cream for daytime use, and some packs to put on at night for several days. There was no charge for anything. The knee was feeling better instantly.

I took the subway to Judy’s school where the “Leavers” party was taking place. They were serving dinner, and I arrived in time to miss all the lines and get the good food. Afterward, we moved into the Annex, for some brief remarks from the “Head of School”. Then the “tough” part of the evening began. Each of the leaving teachers had another staff member talk about them and then the departing staff member had a chance to speak. I’ve posted below a video of Shannon (ES Principal) talking about Judy. Naturally, my iPad bogged down at the end, and I missed the last minute or so where she became emotional. I managed to switch to my phone and got most of Judy’s comments. It was nice evening with many goodbyes, and memories revisited.

SHANNON GOODBYE VIDEO LINK

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n0coj8dx0rrshd2/15.6.11.Shannon%20goodbye%20BISS.m4v?dl=0

JUDY COMMENTS VIDEO LINK

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ta0oz3sttniiq64/15.6.11.Judy.BISS%20goodbye.m4v?dl=0

Another of Judy’s friends, Alexis, put together a humorous video of the faculty to top off the evening.

ALEXIS VIDEO LINK

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5paq7b5q2nez72/15.6.11.Leavers%202015.Friends.m4v?dl=0

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! 62 years! It’s Social Security time!

Judy heads out for her last day with students. I did the usual morning ritual, omelets, computer, swim, lunch. Our ayi came in, so I dodged her as best I could.

Tonight is my usual Wednesday night foodie visit with friends from my school. We met at the Veggie Table near the Lama Temple. I’ve been a few times previously, and always enjoyed it. There were four of us, Josie, Steve, Marilyn (Dr. Prettyman), and myself. It was a relaxing night visiting about what the future holds for all of us.

Back home, Judy is crashed out. Her “half-day” was really busy. With some classes and then an assembly. She’s using every spare minute to make sure the room is cleared of all her stuff, and all the paperwork is completed. When she walks out on Friday afternoon, she wants to be completely finished, and not have to go back on Saturday or Sunday. I’ll believe it when I see it.

The Elementary School faculty and students. The picture was taken in February, when the temperature was actually below freezing.  “Where’s Waldo” spoiler – Judy is on the far left.

I did the morning omelets, worked a little on the computer, did a swim session, and ate lunch. The afternoon was LAZY! I killed time fiddling with things around the apartment, and planning for the packing next week, but basically LAZY!

Judy had a “girls night out” after school with a small group of BISS faculty and some others who used to teach at BISS. Everyone was talking about their summer plans and where they were teaching the following year. It’s so different in the international teaching world when teachers change jobs. So many times, they are moving from one country or culture to an entirely different country/culture, possibly on the other side of the world. It’s hard for me to wrap my brain around it sometimes.

One of the things we’ve been working on was getting rid of the miscellaneous items we’ve accrued during our stay here. A BISS faculty member (Greg, from Poland) is moving in to our apartment in August, and wants most of our stuff. We’ve been working out how to divide up everything. Some of it, we planned to sell, and other pieces, Judy wanted to give to friends. We’ve worked on a list and he was scheduled to come by and leave some things (he’s leaving to return home to Poland on Saturday), and look at the stuff we’re hoping to sell him. It’s 9:00pm before he makes it by. I gave him the list and the prices, and he’ll get back to us tomorrow on what exactly he wants. I would’ve never thought our dryer would be so tough to get rid of. No one wants a clothes dryer? I can’t stand to put on clothes that have been hung up around the apartment, but to each his own.

It’s Judy’s final week of teaching. The last classes with students finish Wednesday at noon following an assembly. Thursday and Friday are Professional Development days. Yea!!!

My day involved computer work, followed by a swim session. Our ayi came in and went to work, and I left for the TT park. I finally figured out how to get the Cycling app on my phone to work. I’ve been curious how far I was riding, and what exactly the app would do. The trip to the TT park is 2.1 miles. The trip to Ditan Park where I take the TT lessons on Mondays is a total of 7.4 miles roundtrip.

When I left the apartment, I checked the weather app, and there was no chance of rain. By the time I began playing at the TT park, it was beginning to spit a little rain. It never rained hard. As I was leaving around 5:00 to travel to my lesson, the thunder and lightning started. I was sure I was going to get soaked. It never really came hard and I made it to the lesson without too much trouble. By the time I came out of the lesson, the skies were clear and it was a beautiful, cool ride back to the apartment.

THURSDAY, 6/4/15

Without classes to teach, I’m just spinning my wheels getting a few small chores done. Along with the everyday swimming and cooking, we’ve got shipping planning, trip planning, cruise planning, and the last two weeks planning to deal with. The paperwork to ship our stuff is sort of a pain, as you might expect, with lots of forms and numbers to chase down. The trip planning is related more to making sure we have tours planned and in place for Cambodia, Thailand, Barcelona, and Athens. The cruise planning is making sure we have the right clothes for all the excursions and activities. Our last two weeks planning involves making sure we get to visit and say goodbyes to all the friends we’ve made here. There are so many great people and we’re going to miss them. There are lots of dinners and get-togethers planned and we don’t want to get double-booked.

FRIDAY, 6/5/15

Pre-K had an assembly at Judy’s school today. Judy was involved in a couple of the activities.   It goes well, but she’s beat when she gets home. She’s been hauling large storage containers home everyday from school with the music supplies she brought over from the US. She’s been bringing home a box each day, but they’re cumbersome to deal with. Carrying them to the taxi is a struggle.

The seventh, and final, box came home today. Now she has to sift through and organize them so the process doesn’t have to be duplicated when the boxes arrives back in the US. Once she got started going them, she couldn’t quit. She was still working away when I went to bed at 11:00. Thankfully, the internet was working well tonight, and we were able to stream some of our favorite television shows and movies with Amazon Prime.

I went back over to my school today to turn in my keys, and the final paperwork for “exiting” my employment with the school. I guess if it were not done correctly, I could be illegal which might be an issue at the airport as we leave in two weeks. It was fun to have lunch with everyone and find out about their summer plans. Travel around here seems a more “exotic” than the plans we’re used to hearing about in Arlington or Clovis.

There are a few different things on my plate today.  I waited around a little for our ayi to come in, but she wasn’t in by 9:00?  Wednesdays she usually comes in around 8:00 am.  Finally around 9:30, Lilly calls and says she had a fight with her husband, and her mother had to go to the police station this morning, and would come in when she finished.

When we first arrived in Beijing, Lilly was not married.  As the year progressed, she mentioned she felt pressure to find a husband and start a family.  Suddenly, in November 2013, she announced she was getting married to a guy here in Beijing who was from her hometown.  She went home in January 2014, and married him, returning to work at the end of the Chinese New Year in February.  Later in the spring she began to talk about issues she was having with her husband and his family (his mother, specifically).  Next thing, in May, she announces she’s pregnant.  In the fall, she continued to have issues with her mother-in-law. 

Lilly left Beijing to return to her hometown and have the baby the 2^nd week of December.  The baby was born Dec. 18.  Lilly’s mom became our ayi, and has done a great job.  I would occasionally talk to Lilly or text her with instructions or information for her mother since she doesn’t speak English.  In January and February, Lilly indicated she was again arguing with her husband.  Lilly’s mom also indicated Lilly was having trouble.  At some point, Lilly moved out, the husband took the baby away, then Lilly moved back after a few weeks – lots of drama.  When Lilly moved back here a few weeks ago, she told me she wasn’t living with her husband, and he didn’t have a job.

As I could best piece together the events from Lilly and her mom, there was a fight between Lilly and her mom, against her husband’s family.  I think her mom was telling me it 4 against 2.  Lilly’s mom had a finger bandaged where she said she was bitten.  She had scratches all along her neck and arms, and she said Lilly had the same.  She even pointed at a knife in our kitchen, and indicated someone swinging a big stick.  It must have been wild.  I’m surprised Lilly’s mom is even here today.  With some very emphatic hand motions, I got the picture that Lilly and her husband were done, and that Lilly had possession of the baby.  We’ll see how that plays out over the next few weeks.

Back to more mundane activities, I went over and made the final payment on our electricity account.  There should be enough in our account now to get us to the end of our stay in Beijing, and get the new tenants going for a few days.  This task used to take me several hours to complete.  Now, I was finished in 15 minutes.  I made a run to the wet market from some fresh green beans and peppers for our daily soup, and then did a swim session.  After swimming, I mixed up the soup, and cooked it.  Lilly’s mom showed up around 3:00 pm and began working, after trying to give me some of the details of the big fight.

I left around 5:00, headed to the Rosewood Hotel, where I met our Wednesday foodie group at Bistro, a highly rated French restaurant.  As always, it’s fun to catch up with all the activities at my school, even if I’m not there these days.  I had a really good Chicken Cordon Bleu.  We didn’t leave until after 9:00 pm.

L-R: Me, Josie, Dr. Prettyman, Jordan (Josie’s son), Rhena, and Steve.

Back home I caught up on Judy’s day at school, and the graduation activities for the grade 5 students.  It sounded like it went really well.  A teachers’ choir that Judy had been organizing sang, as well as the grade 5 students.  She’s been enjoying working with the grade 5 students all year, and today’s program was a huge success.  Lots of smiles and tears!

There’s more swimming and table tennis for me today (sounds like a tough day). After all the shopping and cooking yesterday, today is a breeze. I did my swim session, lunch, and then worked in a short nap. I rode to the TT park, arriving around 3:00.

The “regular” group grabbed me again, and started taking turns, then something happened? They included me in their doubles group! All of my playing up to now has been just hitting back and forth, working on shots, etc. Today was the first time they included me in their group when they were playing doubles against each other. I did OK. It took a few times around for me to figure out how they were playing (how many points, how many serves, etc.) They weren’t playing by any established set of scoring rules, but it seemed more like a local adjustment for fun.

I played pretty well, not embarrassing myself too much. I even hit a shot or two that drew comment (wish I could understand the comment). At the end of the session, as I was leaving, another guy showed up who could speak a little English. Apparently he’s part of the group, but doesn’t come until later in the afternoon. I’ve always been gone when he showed up. We talked as I packed my stuff. It was nice to speak a little English, and tell him how much I’ve appreciated all the players giving me a chance to play.

Back at the apartment, I arrived ahead of Judy. I started heating up the soup (we are eating lots of soup, but it’s good.) She had a rehearsal today for the graduation ceremonies tomorrow for the grade 5 students. She has a couple of groups performing. Life would be simple if everything went as planned, but it never does. There were a few “hitches” Judy had to overcome. I’ll bet it’s going to be a great program.

Back to the weekly grind! Lately, Mondays have been busy for me. I have grocery shopping to do at both the wet market and Metro. Next was a swim session (1600 meters each session). I made soup for lunch (and Judy’s dinner).

After lunch I rode the bike over to the TT park to practice. Some of the “regulars” grabbed me when I arrived and I didn’t sit down until I left at 5:00. They kept taking turns beating up on me. I’m better, though, and the beatings aren’t quite as bad.

Next stop was the KFC across from the West Gate of Ditan Park to eat dinner and rest a little before my TT lesson. I’ve grown to love the KFC spicy chicken sandwich. The lesson went well, and my teacher is definitely noticing my improvement. Unfortunately I’ll never get to the level of most of the kids playing in this place. After the lesson, I make the 25 minute bike ride back to the apartment. The temperature today was around 95 degrees F, and the humidity was almost as high. I’m dripping sweat when I get home.

Judy had just finished dinner when I arrived. We caught up on some of the news from school, and I related my own “fun” for the day. I’m going to miss the convenience of a pool 30 yards from my front door, and table tennis 365 days a year, a short bike ride away. I don’t think it’ll be quite so convenient in the West 7^th Cultural District, and certainly not as cheap.

SATURDAY, 5/30/15

We spent a lot of time today thinking through our packing schedule over the next 3 weeks. We also have to decide when people can come by that are taking some of the items from the apartment that we’re not shipping back to the US. We’re planning on carrying two suitcases each when we leave Beijing, but settling on what to take and what to ship is tough. We have to pack for a week in Cambodia/Thailand, but also what we’ll need on our cruise, including several extra days in Barcelona and Athens.

We finished off the evening with food from Avocado Tree, a Chipotle rip-off. The food is great! The tastes are so much like what we would get in the US. For the longest time, they weren’t on any of the local delivery websites, but they’re back on now. I bet we have it several more times before we finally pull out of town.

SUNDAY, 5/31/15

We made a day of it today! Started off with a trip out to 798 Arts District. We’ve been several times before, but with pretty weather and still yearning for a few small items to take home, it was the perfect time for a visit. We wandered through several shops and galleries before settling into our favorite. We’ve been admiring a series of small statues for over a year. While we were debating about a purchase, one of the workers told us the artist had been in on Thursday, leaving 10 different designs in a smaller (cheaper) size. That was it. We found a couple we thought fit well together and made the purchase. There are so many things we’d like to bring home, but there’s no room in the condo for everything we want.

We walked across the street to a small café, for some snacks, drinks, and people-watching. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed when I take time to sit and watch. There are so many unusual characters around here, and I’m not just talking about the Chinese. The westerners in the crowd have some crazies as well.

We headed back to the apartment to rest before going back out for a real dinner. I’ve been trying to get Judy to Eatalia since I ate there a few weeks ago with the crew from BHSFIC. We had a nice dinner with some good Italian food. Afterwards, we walked around the area for a little while, checking out nearby Houhai Lake. I was also looking for a shop that might have phone cards for Judy’s phone. It’s short on money (I thought I had us fixed up a few months back, but must have miscalculated). I finally found one that had China Unicom, our company. It’s quite a scene, me trying to get a shop keeper to understand what I need, when I speak little to no Chinese, and their English is non-existent. With Judy’s phone charged, we headed home, ready to prepare for the last full week of students at BISS.

I decided to create a little of my own excitement today.  One of the Beijing sites we haven’t visited yet is the “Marco Polo Bridge” or the Luguo Bridge.  It was built in the 1100’s, and rebuilt in the 1600’s by various emperors.  It was one of the main entrances to Beijing.  It’s also the place where the Japanese entered Beijing when they began their war on China in 1937.  For the Chinese, it’s remembered more for the Japanese incursion than for anything to do with Marco Polo and the Silk Road.  There is a museum on site about the Japanese Occupation and many statues portraying the Chinese struggle during that time and before.

The bridge is way on the opposite side of Beijing from where we live.  I took the train over, and it’s quite a ride.  It took me one and a half hours, from the time I walked out my door, until I arrived at the bridge.  I rode the Line 10 subway counterclock-wise for 21 stops, before changing over to the new Line 14 train.  Then it was another 4 stops.  After coming up to ground-level, I took a car for a 5-minute ride to the bridge.

It’s best known for the many lion heads on the posts (over 400) all the way across the bridge.  Each lion has a different pose or feature.  Some of the posts have more than one lion.   I enjoyed a short visit walking around, checking out the bridge and the “lions”.  After 30 minutes, I was ready to go, and began looking for ride.  Oops!  It took me forever (20 minutes) to find a taxi.  I started to have him take me back to the train, but then changed the destination to BHSFIC.  He dropped me off just in time to have lunch with everyone, and catch up on what’s happening at the school.

After lunch, I met Fisher, the Chinese staff member who serves as a liason for all the foreign teachers to the banks and government entities.  He took me over to the nearby Bank of Beijing, where I cleared out my bank account, and transferred it to our bank in the US.  I had to have my passport, a letter from the school describing my job and my monthly salary, a tax statement (I got this a few weeks back), all the necessary account #’s for our US bank, and my Chinese bank ATM card.  It took one and a half hours to complete the process. 

This will probably be my one and only time to try this.  There was a commission charge of $20 at the bank here in Beijing, and there was another $30 of charges on the US end of things.  I think it’s cheaper to pull the money out through the ATM when we’re back in Texas.