TUESDAY, 10/7/14

We both leave the apartment early today to go to BISS for the beginning band class. We have 4 more weeks of this exploratory session. Class meets Tuesday and Wednesday for 1 ½ hours. The time on task is great. We just can’t get enough days in a row to keep our momentum going. The students can’t take their instruments home (all the instruments are school-owned, and the school didn’t feel comfortable releasing them), so the only practice they get is during class. Some of them come back and practice during lunch. Last week was a holiday week, the week before that, classes met. The week before that, the students were traveling with “BISS on the Road”, and class didn’t meet. Basically, the class met 4 times in the last month. It’s hard to make progress at that rate. The students are doing surprisingly well.

The holiday is still in place for the Chinese. Many businesses are not open, and the roads are almost traffic-free. After class today, I stopped off for my regular stop at the BISS neighborhood Chinese restaurant. It was closed. Darn! Back home, I went by the wet market, bought some vegetables, and made a vegetable soup for dinner. It was great, and there’s plenty left over for one or two more meals.

WEDNESDAY, 10/8/14

I wish I had more to talk about today, but I don’t. Judy went to school at her regular time. I joined her later to teach the instrument class. After class, I went to the local restaurant, and had my favorite Chinese dishes. I went by the police station on my way home to register for both of us. It was the regular “Temporary Residence” registration we do after every trip out of China. I had to sit for while and wait my turn, but the registration process was quick and easy.

Judy came home around 6:30 pm. BISS had their regular faculty meeting after school, and she stayed and worked on planning for while. The holiday is over, but traffic wasn’t too bad going either direction on the roads today. Travel back and forth to school was really quick for both of us.