Embassy House BBQ

The weather started out poorly on Saturday. AF and I went to her volleyball practice at school. The taxi driver went a long way so we were late. That was not good because that caused all the girls to do extra running. This taxi stuff is a little frustrating because you don't know what kind of a driver you are going to get. The practice went for a couple of hours. We found a taxi inside the school compound. This driver knew all the short cuts, yeah!!

AF and I attended an annual summer BBQ for the Embassy house residents from 6 till late. We met a lot of interesting people. Most people who speak English are Europeans, Australians. I met a couple of Americans, but it appears that most Americans live out in Shunyi where there is housing similar to California communities. Europeans are much more comfortable living in the city.

The food and drink was good. They roasted a calf on a spit and had sausages, salads, etc. AF asked what would happen if she ordered a Bailey's from the bar. I told her they would serve her but her Dad needed to approve. She had one.............. She talked with a couple of girls in college in China from Tonga. There is a whole floor of people from Tonga above us. One of them is the Ambassador to China.

People explained to me why it is hard to get a taxi to recognize directions to our building. The building is only 4 years old with little advertising for a reason and many people have drivers and cars. So now I ask for the Pizza Hut on Dongzhimenwai and they know where to go, so far.

I mentioned to one resident that I needed to get back to the room so we could get up to go to church in the morning. He asked where I went. It turns out he is Catholic and told me about the British Embassy Church. Earlier in the week I was told that it did not exist anymore. It turns out they had moved it to the Kerry Center office on the 21st floor.

AF and I got up for church today and tried to go to mass at the new location I discovered. We found it after going up the wrong office tower. We got there early so we had time to find it. It is in the Visa section of the British Embassy. We met the priest and he said there was a procedure that they needed to follow to be legal. You have to register and show passports to show you are a foreign citizen. There is still a political riff between Vatican and China that hopefully will close one day. This church is actually a roman catholic church "Our Lady of China" as opposed to the other church we went to.

The mass was said in a waiting room for people to get visas processed. The seating was made of metal benches which hold about 150+ people. The alter was a table set in front of the glass windows for administrators to process visas. Off the side were what looked like confessional doors but were long skinny doors to interview rooms. The mass did not have any music so it was short.

As we left the mass another mass was to start at 11:00. So there were people leaving and people waiting in the elevator bank. There were probably 125+ at the 10am mass today. AF and I decided it was best to catch a taxi from the Kerry Hotel.

I met co-workers at the Grand Hyatt for a brunch at the Noble Court. It was a nice meal and nice to see SL who just arrived this weekend. It took over 3 hours for the brunch which was a little much. I'm glad AF did not join us as she would not have enjoyed that. I went back to my apartment while CB decided to rent a bike and tour the city. He even came out to my apartment where I took a picture of him on his bike. What a sight>