WEDNESDAY, 5/11/15

Now that our ayi is back to work, Wednesday’s are an early day for her (and for me). She arrives at 7:45 am. On Mondays and Fridays, she comes in between noon and 1:00 pm. I spend the first part of the morning working on class preparations for tomorrow. I head over for a swim session around 10:30, trying to get out of her way a little bit. After the swim, I came back and she’s finishing up. The rest of my day is spent finishing up my class prep.

Judy has a regular faculty meeting after school, arriving home late. We finish up the night watching an episode of “New Girl”. That should demonstrate how desperate the regular television situation is around here.

THURSDAY, 5/12/15

I have classes today, so I’m out the door, on my way to the train at 6:20am. The Beijing Subway system had adjusted their fares when we returned to Beijing after the Christmas holidays. The fares used to be 2rmb, no matter how far someone travelled. My travel cost for the train round-trip was 4rmb (about 64 cents). Now the fares reflect distance travelled. My trip to school costs 5rmb (84 cents) and going home is 4rmb (64 cents). I’m not sure why it’s different going one way than the other, unless time of day is a consideration.

After classes, I was able to eat lunch and catch up on what’s happening around school and the southwest side of Beijing. Since it’s early in the semester, I don’t have orchestra club, so I’m able to head home, arriving around 3:00 pm. Judy gets home much later. It’s just like Arlington. She stays busy with classes during the day, and spends a lot of time after school digging through resources and organizing materials for the next day.

FRIDAY, 5/13/15

My day is a repeat of Thursday, teaching classes, and traveling back and forth. Judy has a much different day. She has classes straight-thru, all day. Lunch is very short due to talent show auditions. Her Book Week assembly goes well. She spends a lot of time at school closing out the week, and doesn’t get home until nearly 8:00pm. She’s almost ready for a break. We have one coming in two weeks.

Judy’s costume for the Book Week Assembly. She’s on the far right if you can’t spot her.