Judy has decided Ikea deserves another visit.\u00a0 There are a few items she still needs to make us comfortable in the apartment, and Ikea seems to have the answers.\u00a0 She gets away in plenty of time to beat the crowds.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m headed to BHSFIC today for the government-designated makeup for the holiday a week ago.\u00a0 It\u2019s also the first day I\u2019ll meet the \u201corchestra\/band\u201d class.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got some copying to finish to be ready, so I leave early to allow time to find the copier, and figure out how to work it.\u00a0 Subway is smooth, and I arrive with no problems.\u00a0 The copier is working, and with a few tries I\u2019m able to maneuver through the buttons (in Chinese), and get some copies going.<\/p>\n
Class goes well, and when the dismissal bell rings, I head for the auditorium for \u201corchestra\u201d.\u00a0 The orchestra president, Jason, seems to have dropped the ball on the announcements (the students are supposed to be in charge of these organizational activities, since it\u2019s a club and I\u2019m just the sponsor).\u00a0 We have 13 students at the beginning of class, but a few more wander in as they figure out that we\u2019re meeting.\u00a0 Not everyone has their instrument, so our sparse instrumentation is even more sparse than normal.<\/p>\n
With 2 violins, 1 flute, 1 clarinet, 3 saxes (one is a soprano), 2 trumpets, and 3 piano players, we are finally underway.\u00a0 We warm-up a little bit on some very simple things, checking the students\u2019 music reading skills.\u00a0 About the time I think we\u2019re ready for an easy tune, just for fun, visitors start wandering in.\u00a0 It seems there is a parent meeting today, so we pack up hurriedly and get out of their way.\u00a0 It\u2019s not exactly how I would like to finish up our first rehearsal.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t even get a good assessment of their skills.\u00a0 I know the violinists do a pretty good job, and the flute and one of the trumpets seem to have it figured out. \u00a0This is going to be interesting.<\/p>\n
I get home in time to join Judy and a faculty friend, Shannon, and her husband Dom, for dinner.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to a nice Chinese restaurant tonight.\u00a0 We really haven\u2019t been to too many like this since we\u2019ve arrived.\u00a0 As I walk into the apartment, I realize that in my hurry to clear the auditorium for the meeting, I left my iPad back at BHSFIC.\u00a0 It\u2019s still showing up on \u201cFind my iPad\u201d on my computer, so it\u2019s going to be an early morning return to BHSFIC for me.\u00a0 Our dinner is really good, and we head home, learning a new shorter route through an apartment gate I wasn\u2019t aware of.<\/p>\n
At home, I head to bed, knowing I\u2019ve got to get to school early before my iPad wanders off.\u00a0 Judy is still decorating the apartment with the loot from her Ikea run.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see the finished product until the morning.\u00a0 I\u2019m asleep very quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Judy has decided Ikea deserves another visit.\u00a0 There are a few items she still needs to make us comfortable in the apartment, and Ikea seems to have the answers.\u00a0 She gets away in plenty of time to beat the crowds. … Continue reading