18 days

I posted on my Beijing mom's group asking what folks recommend to bring from home.  Heard back things like first aid items, meds, fave cosmetics, deodorant, Peets coffee (okay, that was from  me), English books.  Very very helpful and may compile the list and post it later.  But one interesting thing also came out.  Some expats moving from Europe, North America or other places where their employers are footing the bill for the move, some of these expats move by container.  As in, a shipping container.  For those people, their lists include things like:  washer; dryer; beds; mattresses.  Holy toledo.  I had simply never considered that level of moving.  I'm not sure if I'd move appliances even if I could.  But I'd  be sorely tempted to move my soft and luxurious bed.

So we are under three weeks to departure now.  The list of tasks still seems to be growing.  Still working but ending both jobs shortly.  LiLi continues going to her San Francisco school, but seems to want to stop and I may let her once I'm not needing to be in the office anymore.  Am thinking though that having her around for errands, house packing, etc, might make matters worse and I can't very well let her watch TV for two weeks.  She'll help do her own room and choose the toys and books she wants to bring along.

LiLi is also busy learning her multiplication tables.  Here in SF, they're learning them in third grade.  In Beijing, I'm told, they know them before starting third grade.  So this has been on our list for a few months and we hadn't really prioritized it with so much else going on.  Fortunately, LiLi has decided on her own that she'll learn one set per day and she's been keeping to it.  Luckily for both of us she is both motivated and has an excellent memory.  I do recall being resistant to memorizing them myself.  Sitting at the kitchen table with my father going over my times tables because I had missed them in school when we were in Hong Kong that year, I recall crying because I wanted instead to be outside playing.  I went on to get my undergraduate in finance, though, so at some point my father was successful and math became fun again.  I sure hope math is fun for LiLi in China.  I'll be holding my breath a little for that one.

I'm writing in another screen the answer to the oft asked question, "Why Beijing."  In part, I want to capture my thoughts about  it now so I can compare them to how I feel in six months.  It might be, it will likely be, that my views today are borne of naivete and that once we're there living the grind my notions will change.  Anyway, stay tuned.