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Wednesday, Jan. 14th, Ab worked with the Foreign Affairs secretary on setting up some computer classes that could be ongoing after we leave. Laura studied for the distance ESL class she’s taking. We dared to go shopping in the afternoon. Spring Festival is just one week away, so everybody is busily doing their holiday shopping, much like our Christmas season. The supermarket was wall-to-wall people, and we only could stand it for a short time, picking up a few of the household items we need (a wok and a rice cooker being the most important). We slept late on Thursday--I think our bodies are still adjusting. We took a bus partway, and then walked the rest of the way to Tiananmen Square, where we enjoyed people-watching. It was another cold day--it’s been about -7 C at night and -2 C during the day, never getting above freezing. We wear loads of layers, and walk quickly to stay warm. We walked all the way back to BFSU, which was about 10 miles. Friday was Ab’s birthday, and we ate sweet rolls from a nearby bakery and I scrambled eggs in the wok. We went on another long walk with Chen and his wife, Huiying, up in the Western Hills. It was a very pleasant walk with them. They then took us to a Western restaurant for dinner, where they gave Ab a birthday cake before dinner (it tasted pretty good!). The food was from lots of different countries, and very good, but still served the Chinese way in the middle of the table for all to share. Saturday was laundry day for Laura. The washing machine lives in the bathroom. It’s about 2’ by 2’, and has to be pulled across the floor so that the hose can reach the floor drain. It’s pretty simple, but I neglected to check the drain and ended up with a lake of water in the bathroom at least 1” deep. Thank goodness the bathroom floor is dropped about 2” from the living room! After I figured out how to open the drain, laundry went fine. The spin cycle wrings out most of the water. Then I hung everything on the rope Ab had hung for me in the extra bedroom-- a Chinese laundry! Saturday evening we had a great dinner at Liu Bing’s home, with his wife Guizhi and son Shane. They cooked a Mongolian hot pot, which is similar to a fondue pot, except that you cook different pieces of meat and vegetables in a boiling broth in the middle of the table. Fun! We walked to a different park on Sunday, Yuyuantan Park, and enjoyed people-watching again. Monday was very windy, so after having a jaozi lunch with Chen and Liu Bing we walked along a canal with the wind at our backs. Chen and Liu Bing have been extremely helpful in getting us settled, and we always enjoy their company--great friends! We are excited to have our train tickets to Kunming. Tickets are hard to purchase, for most Chinese return to their home town for the Spring Festival. We will be traveling on the Spring Festival eve, when there was some available space. We will be in the Kunming area in Yunnan province (southwest China) for several weeks, before our semester starts. The temperatures are warmer there, which will be very welcome after the extreme cold of Beijing.
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