I am inching downwards into the IKEA parking lot when I notice the car in front of me has two large Chinese flags as bumper stickers. Large enough that one covers the left side of the trunk hub and the other covers the right side. Because of the size one cannot but help notice them. And then I notice the car is a Honda Accord and that explains everything.

I went to IKEA to pick up some home furnishings thinking it wouldn't be crowded because of Chinese New Year. I was wrong. Even though the rest of Beijing felt like the city had exhaled its population, IKEA was packed. My first stop, preordained in IKEA's layout, was the sofas and being that I've never really been happy with our couches in Beijing I set out to finally get one I actually like. I know, living large. IKEA Beijing, being the largest IKEA outside of Sweden, has plenty of couches all of which, by the time I arrived, had people sitting on them. This was remarkable because I arrived at the couches 10 minutes after the store had opened. Even more remarkable was that quite a few people appeared sound asleep.

My phone rings and it is Yang. This in itself is surprising as she hardly calls anymore. Only Weixins. Weixin (called WeChat in English) is the crazy popular text/voice messaging and social networking App. Yang likes it because she can communicate with me without actually needing me to pick up the phone or otherwise be present. Somehow I remember how to answer a phone call and converse in real time. Earlier in the day we agreed that Yang would take the kids to an all day and night Chinese New Year party and after I finished shopping I would join them in time for dinner. Now however, my presence was requested. Another foreigner was there, Yang said, and they were asking when I was going to show up. I hid my annoyance. At least then. When Chinese folks gather (to use my own stereotype) and there is a foreigner around then they assume we have a lot and common and would enjoy each other's company. Maybe, maybe not. In any case, I told Yang that I was deep into the IKEA experience and would be a few hours.

Shopping at IKEA is disorienting. It feels like shopping on a subway during rush hour with transfers between living and kitchen supplies. Somehow, I made it through the crazy crowd and even arranged for the sofa to be delivered. Here's a picture from the checkout line.

I made it to the party in time to see the kids swimming. I did not swim. Next stop was hanging out at the house of the host while Yang played Mahjong which by some miracle only lasted a couple of hours. Dinner was a combination of pot luck and prepared food. I wasn't eating much since I had some kind of stomach virus for two days. Apparently Elisa also had the same virus as she puked all over the living room and then later in the dining room. The puking did not seem to slow down the party at all. The other foreigner showed up and he has been in Beijing about twice as long as me. He was also about twice as tall. We didn't have a lot in common besides not being Chinese. He noticed that I wasn't eating much and that I said I wasn't feeling well. He then asked me if I was a closet alcoholic. I guess that is something a lot of foreigners do have in common with the feeling of isolation for those long term stayers like me or the loss of boundaries for the short termers. In any case, I stayed well into the evening until it was time to take the girls home. Elisa had a much better time after she threw up.