Little by Little

Another update on the cat situation:

• One of the school's employees has arranged to meet me tomorrow morning at 9:00 to go to the agency with the cat again to apply for the govenment health certificate. The certificate will take two days to process, at which time someone from school will have to pick up the certificate and forward it to me in Beijing.

Finished packing, except to put the last minute items in. I'm getting better and better at throwing stuff out. There is no second hand charity or thrift store to give things to here, but if you leave used goods next to the trash can they will magically disappear. Quickly. The other day I made two trips to the basement with stuff to get rid of, and by the time I came down with the second load the first had vanished.

I have been packing and cleaning all day and my back is aching fiercely. The ibuprofen I took is not enough to stop the pain, so will lay down on my cold packs. Good thing I have one Tiger Balm patch left, I will need it tomorrow. (My hot/cold packs are actually long socks filled with rice that I put into the freezer or microwave - they are too heavy to bring with me.)

Must remember to bring the bicycle up from the parking garage tomorrow.

When school closed for the holiday I thought I wouldn't see them again, so I said all my farewells and gave my gifts out already. Tomorrow school starts again, and it turns out that at noon my school's principal is planning to have a farewell lunch for me. She has been great to work for, very helpful and accommodating when I have needed anything, and she treats all of her staff like family. I'm very lucky to have been tapped to move from the main school to this branch. I guess the lunch will be a quickie, because the teachers only have 90 minutes between morning and afternoon classes.