Monday 1st August, 2016                               1330

And suddenly it is the end. As I pack the rest of my belongings into what has now ballooned into 6 boxes (and finding things I haven’t seen in years) the emotions come crashing in. The cards I reread from students with their touching messages, the memories surrounding little gifts I was given combined to overwhelm me with great sadness. Bloody stupid I know, certainly I have had my fair share of goodbyes in my life but this one for some reason is infinitely harder even than when I walked away from my life in England. It can surely only be down to the students and I can only hope they have an inkling as to how much I care about them. Except when they texted under their desks!

On this blackest of days there was a glimmer of sunshine though.

“Certification assessment has been completed, wait for the production and mailing certificates”

This greeted me a couple of hours ago when I logged onto Beijing. The agent agrees with me that it is probably good news and is checking with the Hefei government office so hopefully I will know for sure later. If we are right then the spectre of being classified as unqualified is banished and Cambodia can wait. China will be my oyster as far as jobs go and I hope and pray that Changzhou kept their word and held the job for me.

I am about to shower and afterwards cook a steak sandwich for Joan when she returns. She will be a little late today as she is collecting her train ticket to save time tonight. Then it will be a case of piling the rest of my gear into the boxes and heading to the hotel. I am wondering whether I should leave 100y with Anthony to give whoever has the terrible task of cleaning up my room before anyone else can move in!

At some point this evening or tomorrow I need to investigate whether there is somewhere near the hotel (they don’t have the facility) such as a friendly restaurant I can sit and drink in while I wait and where I can recharge my bike. I really don’t fancy hoofing around town shopping and I can return the bike to campus the day before I leave Chizhou, ready for Joan on her return. I could of course make the round trip to uni to do it but waiting in the sun for hours doesn’t appeal!

Mulan finally came this morning to claim some of her stuff. Her boyfriend not only ruined our friendship (but I will always remember the way her family looked after me when I broke my pelvis) but has changed her and for the worse. I felt justified in telling her so because her spirit seems to have been broken and I found that immensely troubling.

Anna tells me her laser eye surgery was a success and she will be examined imminently. If she passes she is dropping out of school to become a soldier. Kevin thinks it is a dreadful idea, I think it could be the best thing she has ever done. It will make or break her and will certainly knock the drama queen out of her. We will of course keep in touch and I will look forward to hearing of her progress.
Now, will I fit everything I want for the hotel and my next school into my suitcase?