Today, my last day in my apartment, I woke up after noon. I almost immediately started cleaning.
I picked up my carpets and swept. I washed some dishes and started the process of cleaning out my fridge. I threw away a lot of stuff. I gave my left over oil and sauces to Kiri. I washed clothes.
I only have a few more things to do (including more cleaning) before I'm ready to check out.
My last night in this area of town, I decided to go to my new favorite Chinese restaurant. I found this place and started frequenting it because my old favorite, like many things in Beijing, underwent a rennovation for the Olympics. When it reopened, it was more expensive and less delicious. I stopped going.
The new place knows me like the old place did. They deal with my lack of Chinese with a smile. They remember things I've ordered so that I can order them again. I usually stick to a few basics that I know how to pronounce or know the number of on the menu.
Tonight, I decided I wanted something new. The person at the table next to me had a dish that looked delicious. I asked, and he pointed it out on the picture-less menu.
I ordered it.
I thought it was strips of beef with bamboo shoots and cucumbers. Turns out it was strips of liver with some vegetable I'm not familiar with and cucumbers. I wasn't really in the mood for a liver dinner tonight, so I ate the rice and cucumbers and called it a night.
I stopped on the way home at a bakery because I wanted to treat myself to something sweet after the interesting adventure at dinner. I got the Chinese version of black forest cake and enjoyed it thoroughly.
With my DVDs safely mailed back to the States, I'm down to watching videos I have on my computer. So that's what I have planned for my last night. A bottle of water, several downloaded videos care of a couch surfer, and a little more cleaning and packing.
Should be a good one.
