More social activities are on the calendar for Judy today.\u00a0 Kelly, the drama teacher at BISS has resigned her position and has to return to Tasmania to teach or lose her teaching position. She thought she had another semester of sabbatical approved in Tasmania, but found out otherwise.\u00a0 Their school year begins in January, so she\u2019s finished at BISS.\u00a0 Several of the female teachers are getting together at the Westin Hotel for brunch to have a final activity for Kelly, before she leaves.<\/p>\n
I jump in the taxi with Judy, drop her off at the Westin, and head over to the Yashow Market.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got some final Xmas details to nail down.\u00a0 I\u2019ve gotten way too comfortable negotiating prices with the vendors.\u00a0 It should be interesting adjusting to paying marked prices when we\u2019re back in the states.<\/span><\/p>\n As I\u2019m leaving Yashow, I\u2019m carrying 4 big bags full of stuff.\u00a0 One of the outdoor vendors begins chasing me with socks.\u00a0 She starts off with 5 pair of socks for 100rmb.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need socks, but she\u2019s not listening.\u00a0 By the time she\u2019s finished, she has 10 pair of socks for 30rmb.\u00a0 I never stopped walking.\u00a0 She followed me across an alley into an upscale mall area, still hawking.\u00a0 She gives up on socks and tries to sell me a \u201cGucci\u201d purse.\u00a0 The purse moves down to 40rmb ($6 – $7).\u00a0 Guess I should\u2019ve bought it.<\/span><\/p>\n I get home and start unloading the sacks, checking items off the list.\u00a0 When we\u2019re done, it looks like I\u2019m going to have to make one more trip to Yashow before the holidays.\u00a0 Darn it.\u00a0 I hoped I was through.<\/span><\/p>\n Judy had a great time at her brunch.\u00a0 There was lots of talking about way too many things.\u00a0 When people are teaching all over the world, they have contacts all over the world.\u00a0 Several of the attendees were job-searching, so there was lots of job talk and intrigue to be discussed.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More social activities are on the calendar for Judy today.\u00a0 Kelly, the drama teacher at BISS has resigned her position and has to return to Tasmania to teach or lose her teaching position. She thought she had another semester of … Continue reading