Judy heads out to work, as usual. She\u2019s begun to settle in on her morning walking schedule. She usually gets back to the apartment between 5:30 and 5:45, and finishes getting ready for school, so she can leave around 7:00 am. I\u2019m doing some stretching and pushups every morning. I hope to start up the swimming next month. BISS changed their gym contract for employees from the Marriott to a Sheraton. It\u2019s much closer to the school, but farther from the apartment. I\u2019ve been looking for a swimming pool closer to the apartment. I think I\u2019ve found one, and I\u2019ll join Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
When Lily shows up today, she goes with me to the apartment management office. She handles the translation and we try to pay for hot water. We\u2019ve almost got the system figured out. We pay to load hot water on our hot water meters (we have two). Back at the apartment, the \u201chot water card\u201d has to be pushed into a slot on the meter and held until the \u201cwhirring\u201d sound stops, meaning it\u2019s loaded. We also have a card that controls the meters for cold water and \u201cflush\u201d water. It hasn\u2019t moved much in a year?\u00a0\u00a0 I paid on both cards in August 2013. So far, we\u2019ve paid $270 total for our water for the apartment, and it could last until next summer.<\/p>\n
After we settle the water purchase, I head over to BHSFIC for another rehearsal of the Orchestra Club. Jason, the club president, and Yelena (she wasn\u2019t here yesterday) made it today. The other students didn\u2019t make it. We spent about an hour playing through the arrangement, and talking about the students\u2019 summer activities, as well as which universities they hope to attend next year. It\u2019s interesting to hear their opinions about colleges, and what they\u2019ll be doing this time next year.<\/p>\n
After rehearsal, I take the train back home. It\u2019s really hot today, so I make a stop at McDonald\u2019s for an ice cream cone. They cost 4 yuan (65 cents). It\u2019s just too cheap, and tastes too good for me to ignore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Judy heads out to work, as usual. She\u2019s begun to settle in on her morning walking schedule. She usually gets back to the apartment between 5:30 and 5:45, and finishes getting ready for school, so she can leave around 7:00 … Continue reading