baobao's birthday

---

This morning Chloe woke me up at 7:00. So I put on some clothes and a hat and went down for a walk. I thought I should stay up, but by the time I got back here and contemplated taking a shower, I had laid down and was back asleep. Lots of strange dreams, though. Anyway, got a text at 10:20 from my old coworker, Joy, asking if I could come out to visit at 12:00.

I'd been planning to go out there today as it's her son's 1st birthday today! And I brought all of those books that I bought at the library sale for her, and wanted to unload them. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a walk to the subway and a long ride... and I accidently took the longer route. Bu hao yisi. I texted her and said I'd be late, about 12:30.

Turns out they were all waiting for me to go to lunch! Her brother and sister in law were already there, had already ordered and were waiting for us. So Joy and Baobao and her mom and I took off. Lunch was great! Roast duck, some awesome savory beef dish, some kind of sprout and walnut salad, a huge fish, and lots of other little things. And a small Chinese chocolate cake at the end for the birthday!

Baobao is so damn cute! Last time I visited he was scared of me, but this time he was in a great mood and even let me hold him! After lunch they took him to a photographer for 1 year old pictures. He's not a fan of chuaning his yifu and didn't like all the costumes they put him in, and he crawls supa fast, so it was interesting to see how quickly the photographer and assistant worked. I mean the kid's a year old! They're not exactly patient yet... At the end they made me get in the photo, too. Ugh. Love her family, but I looked like crap!

Also, I found out something interesting.... her apartment has basement rooms that are super cheap. Like, it might be cheaper to rent a room there for all of August than to pay for 11 days for me and Ben in a hostel. I'm going to do some research and let them know. Basement rooms are only a bedroom and a bathroom. No light. But if they could rent it for one month only, just for August, it is a very distinct possibility.

***
Yeah, Espana! Weird that I've become a soccer fan since coming to China! Too many Europeans around 😉 Sad that it's over...

---

Photos

zhang family!
my old coworker joy, her husband bob, and their 1 year old son, baobao!