HOLIDAY! IT’S MAY DAY, or LABOR DAY here in China. Our ayi, Lilly tried to go home for the weekend, and couldn’t get a train ticket. Deb, our Australian faculty friend at BISS put together a “girls” trip for several of the faculty. She had everything in place, except she couldn’t get plane tickets, and had to cancel the trip. Lots of people are traveling today. I’m curious what Beijing will be like this weekend.
Judy had such a bad night with her cough, she got up this morning and started talking about going to the doctor. She called the clinic and got an 8:30 am appointment. We arrived right on time. Judy completed the paperwork and was quickly taken to a room. Minutes later, she walked through, headed for an x-ray. When we walked out of the clinic at 9:30 am, after paying $8.00 for everything, she had seen a doctor, had bloodwork and a chest x-ray, and received 3 prescriptions. She’s got no excuse for not getting well now.
We walk up “embassy street”, arriving at the “Lady’s Market”. We’re just exploring. I’ve been here, but Judy hasn’t. It’s not open yet, so we find a little café, and have a strawberry smoothie while we wait. A German gentleman joins us and we have an interesting chat, hearing about his postings working with the German embassy. Like many of our experiences, it’s interesting to hear his view of the world, and Beijing. We talk about Dirk and the Mavericks (Mavs just lost game 5 to the Spurs). He talks about getting up at 3:00 am to watch Bayern Munchen get beat by Real Madrid in the big soccer match yesterday.
We eventually walk through the Lady’s Market, and end up in the Flower Market, one floor above. We’re in need of plants for our fountain, and also find some nice flowers to add color to the apartment. Judy heads home to begin work on the fountain, and I walk further up the street for a swimming session. I’m doing everything I can to avoid missing a day in the pool. Back home later, we enjoy the evening with some “Lost” episodes. We’re into Season 5, so we are working hard to not get “lost” in the story.
