I really never set out to live a helter-skelter life, honest!
Adventure is great but I would prefer it to be a little less Indiana Jones at times in respect of the highs and lows.
I am now three-quarters of the way through the exams with just Friday to complete and then I can kick off my new trainers (which are not 280y of comfortableness yet) and relax for a fortnight. During said exams I have been touting for business next year by way of reminding the top 10% of the crop that my classes are open for them to attend if they are free. In particular I really want Jenny and Alison (from two different classes) to continue if they can. They were a delight to teach and I would love them to carry on improving. Both were really pleased to be awarded 90% each.
I had no choice but to fail yet another boy today. As with the two who already failed, he turned up to the first class and the next time I saw him was for the exam! Why?? My Chinese was twice as good as his English (and that’s awful) and it was plain that he couldn’t understand a word I said in class the first time so to be honest, I wouldn’t have attended either. I think it unfair of the school to mandate that clearly unsuitable students who haven’t even learnt the basics in primary school should come to my class. I shall of course point the folly of that when I send in the marks. I would rather for both mine and the students’ sake they stopped doing so. For me it will merely save ink in the register but for the students who have no hope because they couldn’t learn English when it was actually in their curriculum I am sure it would save face. These boys would be better off practising basketball.
At lunchtime I received a call from Mr Zhang, the foreign affairs director. There was a letter on his campus he thought was for me (it was and it was addressed to this campus, from the MNOPF) so he said he would leave it in the hotel reception near my home. He also said he had emailed me, had I seen it? Well of course I hadn’t, I left home at 0645 and I can’t get Gmail on the school computer but I could hardly tell him that I would need to instal my VPN on the school equipment to access it!
I am, after all, retracing George Hogg and Rewi Alley’s steps from way back in (I think without looking) 1937 when WW2 started for China. The school want me to go and they have agreed to organise an individual room for me in the hotels we will stay in. I did when I stipulated it was a condition of my accepting the offer, explain my reasons but I have a nagging doubt as to whether they may deem me racist. I would probably have been billeted with a New Zealand student anyway so it would be unjust to be labelled that when it is purely just one of my foibles. We all have them. Indeed that once I did share a room with two young boys at John’s summer camp a couple of years ago I only acceded as we were friends and I told him never again.
I won’t wear shoes someone else has used. I won’t wear my Grandfather’s watch which was given to me when he passed away. I refused to take over my parents’ bedroom when offered by my Mother and to the day she died I don’t think she understood I could not sleep in the same space as the last time I saw my Father alive - I said goodbye to him as I left to join my ship. Maybe I need a shrink!
Now of course that rather knocks the wind out of my sails re the travel money. Having offered to pay the extra hotel bills I told him I would repay the school provided they pay it first. No, that’s a separate matter. I gather I don’t have to pay, in fact they won’t accept it. I can hardly make a scene now, can I? Next year is a different matter.
So, Shanghai (no, Shanghainese reading this, there will NOT be time to see you, only there for two days with a full programme but I will be there a few weeks later on my own!), Wuhan, Xi’an, Baoji, Fengxian, Shandan, Lanzhou, Beijing and back to Lanzhou (hopefully the 2 nights in Lanzhou before Beijing will allow me to wash my clothes at home!) - here I come!
Naturally I shall be taking the camera, I am glad we are not actually retracing the journey authentically because they walked. Except for one section but in case anyone is going to watch The Children of Huang Shi I won’t spoil it by saying which portion. During the journey you must be aware that what I blog will also be being sent to the university so I may have to adjust my writing style a tad.
Now I just need to try and figure out when I will have time to write and how to buy sufficient jing jo without attracting unwelcome comment from the tour members! Might have to bribe some students - antipodean or otherwise!
Anyway, Janet sent me some of the professional photos taken of the graduations last week. As I think I already said, there is not one student there I have taught so my inclusion was purely out of inclusiveness plus maybe for the novelty of having their first laowei in the shots. I shall only bore you with one but I hope later in the week to have close-ups with just me and one other teacher.
It did though prompt me to research academic attire because I felt fraudulent in donning the outfit. I never found anything definitive to confirm my understanding that the gown and mortarboard should really only be worn by degree holders. I was the only one in the photos who did not possess one.
To have refused was unthinkable. Even on a technicality (if I was right) I would have attracted ire from faculty and students alike. All it did was please everyone and no animals were harmed in the making of these photos. Believe it or not though, lightweight though they were, the robes were rather warm and I was grateful that whilst the day was sunny it hadn’t at 0830 managed to heat up as much as it did later.
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