Thursday 1st October, 2015                        1700

With a third of yesterday’s class having decamped early for the national holiday I may as well have taken the day off myself but didn’t. Instead I abrogated my responsibilities and showed those who turned up a film, including two freshmen (their major unknown) who appeared outside my room looking lost and dazed. If they were English majors my guess is they came because they still don’t have an oral teacher because he has yet to arrive.

Today China is 66 years old (and if a UK citizen, could retire on a measly state pension) so the day itself is special and the week is called “golden week”. Joan is staying over for the holidays and as I needed some shopping today I bribed her to get up early and come to town for a McBreakfast this morning. “Are you sure?” she asked, “there will be so many students on the bus”. I guaranteed her a seat by way of Plan B and told her we would leave at 0915.

We all know what women and timing means - they never coincide. Certainly she was up and showered in a timely manner but then there was the returning to her dormitory to get a jacket and change her shoes which would “only take a minute”. I did comment that if we didn’t get breakfast (McDonald’s here has a bad habit of switching to the lunch menu well before 1030) I would not be pleased. Off she went while I took the rubbish out and rode down to her dorm. Sitting outside on my bike, I was taken aback when I received a text informing me that she was outside her dormitory and waiting for me! What? Had she changed location and not said anything? Unlikely. Having sent back “so am I” I then tried to call her just in case I was going loopy but the call was rejected and she sheepishly came out, presumably having thought I would stay at home until she sent me a message.

I reiterated that I would not be pleased if we missed breakfast because of her.

Exiting the south gate we witnessed the arrival of a 29 (ex number 6 - yes, they have pulled them in from everywhere following the repossessions) bus and the utter swamping of it by students with suitcases heading off home for the duration. Well, we were going to get a seat come what may and we rode to the terminus. For the first time, there were more than two people waiting at the actual bus stop in the middle of nowhere but being a stupid laowei I pretend not to know I can’t get on at the “bus station” and 98% of drivers let me, especially as I say hello and thank them instead of treating them as invisible.

The bus left late due to the fact the driver and Joan exchanged phone numbers. It turns out he had asked her if I could teach his son English privately. Good girl that she is (and out to make money for herself to boot!) and knowing I wouldn’t be interested, she told him that I was very, very expensive but she on the other hand could do it for him for much less. I hope he calls her and no, I would have refused even 200y an hour had it been offered me.

When the bus left it was already half full so when we got to south gate and encountered a heaving mass of humanity which otherwise could be described as students, there was always going to be an overloading dilemma. The driver did his best but ultimately had to call a halt to packing in the sardines. In fact the bus was so full that we had to sail past everyone at subsequent stops who were waving frantically for him to stop - until we arrived at the train station and suddenly everyone who got on could find a seat.

We arrived at McDonald’s at 1015 and as we approached I could see they had already gone to the lunchtime menu. A big mac and fries is not my idea of breakfast and I hope the staff saw their best customer halt in his tracks and turn away, annoyed at both Joan for delaying us and them for not sticking to the 1030 breakfast rule. Hit and miss re timing is no way to run a business.

Seeing as Joan WOULD be wanting a breakfast I did something I said I wouldn’t do again - I took her to KFC. The one at the commercial centre is ok but the one at RT Mart is awful. Being miffed I didn’t have much appetite anyway but I suggested we bought a small chicken bucket and a couple of coffees. What we were given was a chicken burger in a box, thus ensuring my mood darkened further. She was happy to accept the situation but I wasn’t and in high dudgeon returned to the counter to get what we had asked for. They couldn’t even use the excuse that they couldn’t understand because Joan is funnily enough, Chinese. Definitely, absolutely the last time I set food inside that place.

Anyway, when shopping I  bought things which gladdened Joan’s heart. I could see it sink when I said we would have breakfast tomorrow (she was thinking God, I have to get up early again) and saw the utter joy when I said she could get up late as I will cook it. Soft boiled eggs with toasted soldiers it is then, haven’t had that for years!

Kevin is back in town this evening so tomorrow we will make a foursome for dinner. Andrei and Juliette will not be coming, for whilst he was making his way from Huangshan to here, they were travelling from here to Huangshan! They are off to climb some mountain there which apparently has 10,000 steps. I could probably manage 50 or so.

Joan is currently exploring (in the dark now) Qi Shan with a freshman from her hometown of Suzhou (the Anhui one) who has pestered her to introduce him to Chizhou. She is far better able to climb that mountain than I, given it is at least three hundred feet high - I did it once under duress and never again!