I end up doing a lot of traveling today, again. I finish my classes at 11:30, and eat lunch at school. I leave at 12:10 for a long train ride to my haircut appointment at 1:00. I walked in right on time. After the “trim” I walked around the corner to the South German Bakery. It was just too close for me to ignore it. I bought 3 loaves this time, one for me, one of Dr. Prettyman (I’ve heard her say several times how much she loves German bread), and the third loaf for Josie. Josie is constantly catching me up on all the school activities with emails and texts, and I owe her.

After my bakery stopover, it’s back to the train and BHSFIC. I get back just in time to deliver the bread to Josie, and meet Dr. Prettyman for a review of my evaluation from yesterday (I passed). I planned on giving her the bread after our discussion, but she could smell it when I walked in. We had a good discussion about life and education in China. She has such a tough job with the balancing act between a bunch of US and Chinese teachers, and a Chinese school administration. There are enough cultural differences to keep her life interesting.

After the review, I dragged my body back to the train. I kept looking for an empty cab, but didn’t spot one before I got to the station. Back at the apartment, I began to prepare for next week’s classes, waiting for Judy to let me know about dinner plans.

Mindy, the athletic coordinator at BISS last year, was back in town today. She had taken a job in Guangzhou (small town of 15 million, just outside of Hong Kong). She was chaperoning some students in town for a tennis tournament. We met her, along with several other “old-timers” from last year, at Bluche. It was fun to hear her comparison of Beijing to Guangshou and the differences between the two international schools. Her personality and spirit have been missed this year.

Judy was “dead tired” before we met Mindy, and even considered not going. She just couldn’t miss the opportunity to see her. We had a great time, but it was late when we got home and finally got to bed. To add to the long day, the pollution was over 350 most of the day. As we went to sleep, I noticed it was over 400. It makes for a really “dreary” day.