The shippers come tomorrow, so everything must be sorted and ready when we finish up today. We laid out our suitcases and packed everything we’re planning on carrying with us. Everything else is stacked in “easy-to-figure-out” stacks. There’s always the chance that language issues may get in the way.
We spent a long day of thinking through what we must have before Sept. 1, when our shipping will most likely arrive. If it comes earlier, I’ll be surprised. If we need it, we’ll have to carry it around the world. I don’t want to get somewhere and realize I really need something that’s sitting on ship in the Panama Canal.
We’re also meeting friends who are taking some of the items we’re not bringing back to the US. The apartment is beginning to empty out.
We made a trip to the bank to exchange currency for our summer travel. We’ll be on the road 3 ½ weeks. We’re allowed to exchange up to $500 each per day in US dollars. The info on Cambodia and Thailand is that US dollars are the best currency to carry. It also exchanges easily in Europe. The process takes about 15 minutes, once we get to a bank clerk. The wait for a clerk was 45 minutes. Banking is a slow, tedious process here, compared to the US. It’s the opposite at the doctor’s office where our experiences here have been very quick, and the back home, it’s slow and frustrating, usually involving numerous trips and different locations.
At the last minute, I decided I really wanted a kite from a Chinese kite maker here in Beijing. They’re handmade from silk and paper in several different patterns. I called, and they were open till 10:00. He was about to head out for dinner and told me to meet him at 9:30. I arrived early at the shop and waited till he returned, right at 9:30. I perused several of the kites, checking the prices and settled on a couple of nice kites. He had to give me a lesson on how to assemble them. Part of his design is the ability for them to come apart and transport easily. I’m excited to get home and try flying them. He also published a book on Chinese kites. I bought a copy and had it signed and got a few pictures.
The kite maker and author, Liu Bin.
