April Fool’s Day, 2016                    0230

Well I do have a five day break now, although I do want to be up and on the move before midday in order to check to see if any of Kevin’s mail is in the department before they close for lunch because I will be going shopping afterwards and it would be nice to beat the hordes of students taking the bus who will be bunking off and going home early for Qing Ming.

I had a fair few students missing from my last class this afternoon so I asked them if they wanted a lesson or just a film. This is the class I see twice a week anyway. No prizes for guessing the result of the vote. Showed them “my” video which they thought hilarious and then tried to show them an episode of Wild China. It wouldn’t  play no matter what I did and I couldn’t understand it because it did last term. Ok, try something else and my 64Gb memory stick was plugged in and immediately the computer shut down!

Oh this is just terrific. Is it me? Thankfully I had backup and they watched one of the Ice Age films but how the hell does a USB stick that’s 6 months old suddenly go wrong? It did though and tonight I had to reformat it and over the weekend will have to reload all the films that I had on it. It took forever.

Kevin is coming back tonight so we will meet for dinner tomorrow, Joan is indeed free, and I am praying I can find the restaurant I am thinking of again. It’s behind No 1 hospital and I’ve been there twice so fingers crossed. Hahaha! Joan asked if we could be finished by nine? I think she forgot it wasn’t just going to be the two of us so I sent her a message to say that I couldn’t impose limits on Kevin and Vivi. We probably will be finished by then anyway but I can’t promise what I don’t know I can deliver. This obsession with study is a cancer. Time and again I have seen my students studying the entire day and for what? After an hour your brain says piss off, I’ve had enough. They need to take a break, go for a walk, lunch, dinner, whatever and then go back to study for another hour. Ten hours in a library does not imbue them with ten hours of what they have been studying any more than sitting in a classroom listening to me drivel on for that length of time does.

1600

Christ I am tired. No reason, I never got up until ten and then I needn’t have because there was no mail for Kevin anyway - or anyone else for that matter. Being a lazy git I wasn’t going to park miles away from the foreign language department to check the mail, so I got off the bike, powered it up the kerb and got back on and rode it right to the building. Had I taken a run-up I reckon I could have stayed on the bike!

As I suspected there were legions of students waiting for the bus, toting suitcases and not just from our school but also the nurses one opposite. Straight to the terminus on the bike to guarantee a seat. We are now in silly season with regard to the weather. Today was shirtsleeves even for riding the bike, doubtless tomorrow I will need a jacket. When I finish this I will take a nap and will probably use the a/c to cool the room, tomorrow doubtless I will need to heat the place. The forecast also says this weekend we will get a soaking - not much different to Britain seeing as it always rains on bank holidays! Last year at Qing Ming I went to Wuhu if you recall and my beautiful view of the Yangtse from the 24th floor of the Hilton was permanently obscured by deluges!

I did a small shop in town but while I was there I bought a decent portion of pork. I haven’t made ham in a few months (it’s been so long that my Instacure has gone from pink to dirty white!) but I need some ready for next Wednesday. Dumpling told me her favourite out of all the ways I utilise potatoes is when I cut them up with cream. Translate that and you get boiled spuds with salad and Heinz salad cream! Ok fine, she will next clean on Wednesday so I have instructed her to be prepared to clean and then stay for a film, during which we shall have a salad. Ham would be nice.

Plus of course I need to use up as much of what I have amassed by way of imported ingredients before I leave for wherever - they are hideously expensive (especially the cure at 238y a pound) - although I will take some ingredients with me. When I first came to China it was all novel and I ate things that I wouldn’t now, so knowing the ropes and how to make and eat the things I do like, I would like to try and hit the ground running.

My illness has almost done a bunk I am glad to say, although I do have a residual tiredness which miraculously disappears just after midnight. Siesta time now and for the next four days it doesn’t matter what time I stay in bed till!