Thursday 20th April, 2017               1400

On Tuesday I tackled the task of washing up and addressing the disaster zone that was my oven.

My God. When I went to remove the “crackling” which had been cremated for hours on Sunday night, instead of encountering a brick of pigskin as anticipated, my hand met with something that powdered to the touch and fell straight through the grill.

Anyone who has ever owned a mini-oven will know that the inner walls are impossible to keep clean without the aid of a Brillo pad (which rather destroys the fabric) and so I never even attempt it. Mine is now the colour of a Zulu who is overly fond of lying by the pool sipping pina coladas. The rest of it is now ok though and thankfully there is no residual smell when in use.

Wednesday was supposed to be shopping day but when I got up, for the first time since I arrived here it was raining, properly raining, brolly weather. Any excuse not to do something and I grasp at it like a drowning man at a piece of flotsam so that was my midweek. A big fat nothing but with a nice salmon fillet at the end of it.

Today of course was an early start for the catch up lesson. I have no idea of what time I finally nodded off last night/this morning but it had to be after midnight, despite the fact I was indeed tired. I hate that. Getting out of bed at five was an ordeal, only made more bearable by the knowledge I was going to be finished by ten.

It’s a good job I listen to others’ conversations on the bus to work. Admittedly 99% of them are in Chinese but very occasionally one is in English. I picked up that the sophomores are in kindergarten all this week and have no lessons. Well five of my six classes are juniors so they are unaffected but my last class of the week (tomorrow afternoon) consists of sophomores. The students had said nothing to me last Friday, and I would have expected them to have corrected me when I closed the class by saying I would see them next Friday. But no. On the number 12 bus towards Five Streams Mountain I sent a text to Janet who is currently in Nanjing on “business”.

Happy days. I can catch the noon school bus back home tomorrow!

Something someone said in a Junior class on Monday has returned to me. It was when I was trying to organise their catch up lesson for next week. They couldn’t do it at 1630 any day next week as they were at kindergarten. I am now wondering whether next week the other five classes will not be in school. I say wondering but for that, substitute “hoping”!

So anyway, at that time of the morning today, I made it back via public transport in 75 minutes and had a seat at all times. I went for a Generation Game Hotpot for lunch and did my overdue shopping. No food apart from butter, breaded fish and a small pack of plastic ham which was intended to be for a sandwich for a lunch I no longer need tomorrow. My wine girl wasn’t there but two of her colleagues helped me with my BOGOF plonk. Except when I checked out I smelt a large rat. I had expected it to be about 200y but it was 300y. I stopped the wine girl from leaving and asked her to point out the hong jo. I could have done it myself but had no chance of explaining to the checkout girl. Sure enough, she had rung up 6 bottles instead of 3. I was overcharged by just over 100y.

Of course, getting your refund is not as simple as the money coming back out of the till. Oh no, checkout girl cluttered off for lunch quite unconcerned (not her money, after all) and I was left with wine girl to spend the next 15 minutes at customer service. They insisted on giving me the cash despite my best efforts at explaining a simple voucher to use at the till next time would be acceptable. I mean, I go there every week anyway but no, cash it had to be. At least I got it. This never happens with my usual wine girl.

Ah well, at least I don’t have to cook tonight. I shall have some bread and butter (baked a loaf last night) and a large bowl from the cauldron of chicken and vegetable soup I made last night. I had to wing it on the spice front because there are many I don’t have and it tasted fine. I will say however that if I can recreate the flavour, it would make a damned fine Minestrone.