Friday 22nd July, 2016                                   0020

A few quick words before calling it a night. I need to adjust again to getting up early, which I will explain later.

Joan and I went to town in the morning, lunch for her and then she was charged with buying me a suitcase alone. Alone because I didn’t want the stallholders to see my face and inflate the price. Long story short, I told her maximum combined dimensions of 1.2m because of airline rules, she returned with one bigger, I said sod it I would take a chance and despite my forcefulness she went back to change it. At that I got annoyed and went to the supermarket while she walked in the opposite direction, texting her to say once I had shopped I was off back to school. I was fuming. She met me at the bus stop with a compliant case.

When we got home it was immediately apparent that it was smaller than my existing (now destroyed by cat claws) case and so I checked online for the limits. 120cm is for CARRY ON baggage, checked bags are about 160cm so I cocked up and Joan was right. I can’t be right all the time!

The agency sent me a message to see if there was any news from Beijing. Rather pointless considering they would be the first people I contacted after I had any information but to give the lass credit, she is really trying to earn her commission on this one and I won’t knock that.

However, she has found a school that is interested and regardless of what Beijing says, can transfer my residence permit and foreign expert certificate. At first glance the offer would appear to be very nice, the usual benefits (apartment, utilities, round trip annual flight paid etc) and nigh on double the wages here for 20 teaching hours as opposed to my maximum here of 16. Twenty hours is a bit much these days but I can manage.

Except.

It is an “international” school (for which read private) and although they are the types which, were I a decade or so younger, I would consider simply because there is good money to be earnt, there are red lights. Big bonus is the fact there are no “office hours” (for that read sitting around when not working doing stuff all just because the school wants to think they are getting their pound of flesh). Well I won’t do office hours anyway, not unless there’s a bar and a quiet bed close to hand.

So far so good.

Where is it?

Urumqi.

Home of the Uighyurs. Where all the Muslim attacks have been happening here. Incidentally also in the far northwest of China which is a bit chilly in winter to say the least. Not to mention a 40 hour train journey from here for 1000y or a 7 hour flight for at best 1700y and as far as I can ascertain no western restaurants.

Joan tells me her friend was there and wasn’t allowed to go out, SWAT teams/army with assault rifles were assigned to protect him/her outside the accommodation. Very reassuring but I would prefer it if it were possible for me to have my own rifle (or preferably a .44 Magnum) with which to protect myself and walk around freely.

Will I take the job if it is offered?

Well if push comes to shove it is of course in the frame. When you have seen a lot (and had an entire platoon pointing their Lee Enfields at your heart during an attempted coup) and are in the autumn of your life, you tend to be fazed quite so much by such things. Do I want to take it? As much as the high salary is most tempting, the two things that deter me are the high workload and the bitterly cold winters. The danger aspect is not worth considering - just look at Europe at the moment.

I have asked to see the contract and to be able to wait for the response from Beijing as I would prefer the Changzhou position and the agent is going to call them tomorrow to see when we should have a reply.

No sooner had I finished that exchange than the phone rang. Professor Wu of the charity mountain school wants me to go there on Saturday. As usual they will pick me up at an unearthly hour so I really need to adjust my sleep pattern seeing as an early morning for me of late is after nine. This will surely be my last ever stint up at that wonderful little school and sadly I have no companion this time to accompany me.