Class 2

The weekend started with a downer: Malachi received a Class 2 medical clearance on Friday because of the seizures. This might affect our impending move to Chengdu. The medical staff at post will evaluate his specific condition and the care available in Chengdu to determine if we are still cleared to live there. If we are, everything will proceed normally. If not, we'll have to be posted somewhere else. Hopefully we will know this week.

Friday night we had a China Team (all the people from my class going to various China posts) Mahjong party. I had only ever played Mahjong on the computer, and so expected something very similar. But it's not. In China, Mahjong is one of the premiere gambling games, and it plays similar to a card game (most like rummy). We weren't playing for money (thank God), but I did finally win once and ended the night on a high note. And in true Chinese style we combined gambling (though not really) with alcohol. One of my classmates mixed Lychee martinis throughout the night.

Yesterday we took Malachi to the Air & Space Museum (again). After breezing through a few of his favorite exhibits we watched an IMAX movie about fighter pilots. It was quite enjoyable, and Malachi was really transfixed by it.

Despite having read the weather forecast, we didn't bring an umbrella downtown. So we walked a few blocks in the rain to get back to the Metro station. Malachi fell asleep on the Metro (no nap).

Last night was my final A-100 class party. The first members of the 146th head out to post next week. Sadly, Sara couldn't come because trustworthy babysitters are hard to come by around here. Most of the class (+ significant others) was in attendance, many in costume based on their country of assignment. I was jealous that I didn't have a panda mask like some of the other China folks. I exercised self-control by not offering my rendition of Baby Got Back during karaoke (though it would have been awesome).

Already a full weekend and it's not over!