Being a busy bee...

It goes without saying that I have been busy since I got here at the beginning of August. The last couple of weeks, however, have been even busier. Dan arrived on the 26th, which was nice, because I missed him, and not, because his flight got in really late and we only had a few hours together since I had to work the next day. I had him doting on me for a full week before he had to start work. He brought me a couple of awesome presents, a necklace and matching earrings and a spice rack (really great because all I had in the apartment up till that point was salt).

This week was the first week both of us were working and it was a rough adjustment. We spent a couple of nights at the hutong, a night apart and a couple of nights at the Chaoyang apartment. Rough as commuting can be, it's totally worth it, I think, to have the hutong. I've had a lot of work to do, but I've been managing. I haven't relaxed too much though.

Last night was pretty cool though, and I'm really glad Dan was able to come with me. There was a dinner for work at the Landgent Courtyard. Basically, it's this enormous, beautifully redone courtyard that the board uses to wine and dine people. We left on school busses at 5:30 and got there around 6. There were drinks ready when we got there and they spent very little time making speeches, maybe 15 minutes. We met the founder of the school, Mr. Nee, a thirty-two year old realestate tycoon who does not look like he has that much money. Then, we had a really nice dinner, buffet style, but a really nice variety of asian food. They served us wine that they were very proud of, from France, and great dessert. In all, it was a really nice evening and we were back to the school by about 8:30. Oh, and I forgot to mention what was probably the most Chinese aspect of the whole evening, the presents. On our way out, we were told to choose two presents each and they ranged from business card holders and wallets to silk scarves and ties. They were very nice gifts, but I still think it's a bizarre thing to do.

So, now it's Friday and Dan and I don't have plans this weekend. It's great! I think I'd be happy to be a slug for a couple of days. On Sunday, we have a brunch to go to, but it's the next building over, so it's hardly a task!