I’m up at 4:00 am today, concerned about the wire transfer to our moving company. After the login, I’M SUSPENDED AGAIN! I contact Courtney again, and we do another Facetime conversation with the bank. After working through all the security clearances and being cleared, etc., the “senior” representative tells me I can access my bank, and reset the wire transfer, but that it probably won’t go through. WHAT? He tells us that they really don’t like working with anything coming from China that is a little out of the ordinary. I start asking for his boss, and we’re put on hold. 5 minutes later, the bank hangs up on us. Courtney decides to go to a bank in person.
I’m beginning to lose faith that I’m going to be able to patiently work through this issue. Sure enough, at the bank, Courtney doesn’t have any better luck. We decide, I’ll send her the money and let her set up the bank transfer through her bank. Now, here’s hoping she can get it working from her end.
Judy heads out to school. She has a full day of classes and an assembly she’s helping with, as well. When she arrives, she finds out that both 6th grade teachers are home sick, and she and a Chinese teacher, Lynn, who also travelled with the 6th graders, are in charge of the class in their absence. The students are supposed to be making an iMovie of their “On The Road” experiences. Judy has classes all day, and so does Lynn. They hurriedly work out a “coverage” plan, running back and forth from their classes to the 6th grade classroom, making sure the 6th graders are on task. It actually works out ok. The students finished their project successfully, with few problems. Lynn and Judy are worn out, but still on their feet.
My classes go well. I get home and Lillie comes in a little while later. As she leaves, Judy arrives. The “pub” group is meeting tonight. As tired as she is, she knows she’ll enjoy the group, so we walk over. It’s about a mile. Many of the group traveled with their students this week. One of the grade levels was camping, and the women teachers were less than pleased with the accommodations. It makes for some great stories. In every instance though, you can hear the love for their students come out as they talk about the rapport they built with each other.
I spend most of my evening talking to Mark, a Brit. He’s the antithesis to many to the itinerant international school educators. He taught in the Dominican Republic for seventeen years before moving to Beijing and BISS, ten years ago. Twenty-seven years, and he’s only been in two spots. He has great stories about the many changes he’s seen in Beijing in just the 10 years he’s been here. When he arrived, there were only 3 subway lines. Now there are 13 completed lines, with several others under construction and nearing completion. He talks about the build-up to the 2008 Olympics and the impact that had.
Walking back to UHN afterwards provides a fun end to the evening. One of the street corners has suddenly become a portable market. It wasn’t like this when we came by the first time. There is cooking at several of the carts. Also, clothes and electronics are for sale everywhere. We see rabbits and turtles for sale. I don’t think they’re going to be pets. This is the contrast of Beijing. The big city bustle and the street life all jumbled together.