Spain/China 2023, continuing (42)

[aadler]

Twenty-eighth (last) day in China – August 08 Tuesday

I woke just after 8:30AM, Susan was already up. I did my morning shower and shave; as soon as I laid out her suitcase for her, Susan started packing the clothes she’d folded last night.

I started mine once she was done. She said she needed something for breakfast, so I went down to Baker & Spice to get us a couple of salmon bagels. The last few days, I’d been ready to get back to the States; knowing we’d be leaving today, I sat at the B&S table while they were preparing our order, looked out at the sidewalk, and thought, “You know, this is a really nice place.”

Kcvin let us know he’d be coming over for lunch, so I took Susan’s phone and went to Burger King to bring back lunch for the three of us. Alipay had been working for the last several days, but declined to go through this time. I had cash with me, but the ordering kiosk didn’t have that as an option, and I couldn’t see a manager to get thing set up to send the order through while I paid at a register. A regular worker came by stacking trays, I got his attention and said, “Manager?”, and he nodded and went off. Five minutes later I caught the same guy and showed him a message translated through the app on Susan’s phone: “I need a manager.” Again he nodded and went off. Ten minutes later, still without a response — and every other worker available busily intent on the work in front of them — I canceled the order and stomped out.

Kevin was at the apartment when I got there, and he went back to BK with me to complain (and was, of course, able to request a manager himself in their language). It turns out that the guy I’d spoke to twice was, in fact, mentally deficient, and stacking trays was pretty much the scope of his abilities.

We got what we wanted, and returned to the apartment for lunch with Susan. Kevin told us he’d spoken with the apartment management, and 4:00PM was the latest checkout he could arrange. I finished packing the stuff I’d left for last (mainly my laptop and cords and chargers), and while I pushed Susan’s wheelchair, Kevin moved our luggage along. We went up to his and Mei‑li’s apartment; Mei‑li was currently at work, and Amber with her grandparents. Kevin started a movie for us to watch on their TV before leaving to return to his own work.

We dozed a little when the movie was done, Susan on the couch and I on a mat on the floor. In the mid-afternoon, Laura brought Amber in following her swimming lesson. Susan read to Amber from an activities book, I helped her find this and that on a puzzle page, then Susan watched and worked with her on one of the Lego puzzled she’d got for her birthday.

Mei‑li came in after her workday ended, and Kevin showed up maybe 5:30PM, maybe 5:45. He said the driver they’d arranged to take us to the airport was on his way, so we got our stuff together and went downstairs.

Kevin had always intended to accompany us, but Mei‑li had subsequently decided she’d come along as well. We were in the taxi van by 6:00PM … but, with the necessary driving and the showing of our passports at two different checkpoints (at one of which we had to leave the taxi and physically walk through, following the official process), it was just past 7:00 before we arrived at the airport.

Kevin and Mei‑li helped us get our luggage checked in, and make the arrangements for transport of Susan’s wheelchair, though we wouldn’t turn it over till we actually boarded the plane. Susan spotted an ATM, and I withdrew 3,500 in Hong Kong dollars (around $500 U.S.) to repay the €450 Kevin had provided for us in Spain. I also passed over the ¥600 I still had in mainland cash. Susan bought some snacks for travel at a shop, and the four of us ate at one of the airport restaurants.

By 9:30PM we were back at the service desk, waiting for the wheelchair attendant to arrive. When she finally did, Kevin was gone on a restroom trip, so Mei‑li went with us to security, hugged us goodbye, watched us go in.

Couple of snags at the X-ray inspection. The cough medicine Susan had bought was larger than the maximum size allowed, so she took one dose on the spot and then gave the remainder to the security agent for disposal. Bigger issue: at some point we’d been given a large bottle of vodka (almost certainly a present from Logan, though for some reason I don’t remember it), packaged in such a way that Susan thought it was part of the tea she’d acquired, and she had packed it in her carry-on instead of one of the checked bags. That one simply had to be thrown away (she tried to call Kevin and Mei‑li about coming to get it, but they were already in their taxi on the way back to Shenzhen). With those inconveniences out of the way, we were upstairs waiting at the departure gate by 10:00PM.

The plane opened for loading pretty much at the scheduled time of 10:50. Like everywhere except at the airport in Qatar, wheelchair people were loaded first. Takeoff, scheduled for 11:30PM, didn’t actually take place till 12:14AM (technically tomorrow).