Apparently, I feed more than just stray kitties! Eeeewwwww! Nasty things, possums! This little guy was very arrogant and gave me the evil eye before he finally ambled off.

The TEFL is all done and I'm just waiting to receive the certificate. I had to pay for it to be internationally overnighted and I should receive it today. I've heard from my manager in Beijing and once I receive my invitation letter, I'll get the proper visa and be on my way. My last day at work is next Friday, August 31. I have many invitations for lunch, which is very nice. I'm down to a couch, a table and one of Nick's twin beds from his childhood bunkbeds to sleep on. I have to be careful making a big flip from my right side to my left side (something I do several times during the night), lest I flip myself right onto the floor! A friend treated me to Indian food last night at Sitar and it was absolutely delicious! I'll be finding out about the Indian restaurants in Beijing for sure! After dinner I went for a great swim at the pool. Fall semester starts tomorrow so there was a nice little party revving up on one of the outdoor patios beside the pool. The music was, at times, deafening! The kids were really enjoying themselves and that was good to see.

I've rounding up all the things I'll need to spend a year in Beijing and stocking up on things that are hard to find (dental floss, deoderant, etc.). I talked to my friend, Hua, who now lives in Boston with his wife and their baby girl, Amy. He has a cousin who owns a company in Beijing and lives with his wife and 5 year old daughter. Hua said they have invited me to live with them for free while I am living in Beijing! What an incredibly generous offer. That's the Chinese. I told Hua to thank him very, very much for his amazing offer but it would be better for me to live close to my school (he lives across town). I'm sure I'll get to know his family well and he is also going to pick me up in his car at the Beijing airport when I arrive. Also, Tracy has two former classmates who live in Beijing and who each have babies under one year old. I'll have plenty of young ones to play with, not to mention my own young students.

Yesterday, as Nick and I drove toward our respective homes on Clinch Avenue (he lives in an apartment building across from my house), we saw five big fire trucks stopped in front of our houses. They had apparently just screeched to a halt and were jumping off with their air tanks. I saw one fireman take two steps toward my house and said to Nick, "Is it my house? Is it my house?" It wasn't my house. It was the house directly behind Nick's apartment building and there was a small fire on the side deck of that house. Whew!