We wake up at 5:00 am, anxious to get going.  Jet lag seems to be gone.  We’re both feeling much better.  ELECTRICITY STOPS.  We’ve been trying to figure out when and where we could “top off” our electricity card.  Guess I’ll find out today.  No showers, no hair dryers, (and no coffee) and we both still look decent as we catch the bus to BISS.  An accessible “State Grid” office is ½ block from the school.

At the school, I get a translator, and head to the State Grid site.  We take a number and when it’s my turn, I step up with the card and money.  Clerk looks confused and asks for a small document, showing me a sample.  It’s back at the apartment.  Didn’t know I needed it.  None of the other teachers needed it.  Two taxi rides and 1½ hours later, I’m back and paying.

Back at BISS, I check on the medical report paperwork, which we completed Tuesday.  My school needs it for my “Foreign Expert Certificate.  Looks like DHL Express will deliver it Monday.  BHSFIC is needing to get paperwork started and are pressing me for it.  BISS doesn’t seem comfortable turning loose of the form.  This should be interesting.

Alright!  I get lucky and today is pizza lunch for new teachers and families.  It’s really good.  This won’t be the last time I eat Tube Station Pizza.  Back to the apartment.  I figure out how to insert the card into the meter in the hallway.  Electricity solved.   I put together a dryer vent (no vent hose came with the dryer, of course) using a “Boomwhacker” and cardboard taped together, and start the laundry.  Instructions on the washer and dryer are in Chinese, so it’s a guess how to get it to work, but I get lucky and laundry is happening.  Everything begins to feel better.  We have electricity, phones, and fresh laundry.

Creative vent – Boomwhacker

Judy spent the afternoon touring medical offices with the other new staff and families.  The insurance is no-deductible, and no co-pay, 100% coverage.  Both sites are modern and very close.  The morning was spent in meetings trying to figure out everything about collaboration, technology, and what exactly does the school want from the music teacher.  She’s getting several different answers right now.

We decide it’s a good time to get dinner somewhere besides our fridge.  We taxi to Sanlitun Village.  We visit Sundan to chase down a dryer vent hose, but apparently Panasonic doesn’t even make one for it.  After many gestures they show me a vent hose for an oven/stovetop.  I can make this work.

We head upstairs for an enjoyable dinner at THE BLUE FROG.  Judy has a cobb salad, and I get a grilled chicken sandwich.  The food is great.  We sit out on a balcony enjoying a cool evening.  Life in Beijing sure seems restful tonight.

The taxi ride brought us back to reality.  The driver cut people off, whipped through red lights, and squeezed in a few holes at speed, where I didn’t think a car could fit.  Judy tried to video it when she realized what kind of a driver we had.  Breathless when we arrive at UHN.  It’ll take awhile for the adrenaline rush to go away so we can sleep.