Sunday 20^th January, 2019 1630

On Wednesday there was a knock at the door. When I opened it I beheld the sight of Alice laden with a large suitcase and various smaller items.

The previous night the Auntie had knocked on all the dormitories and informed the students they had to be gone by midday the following day. Sometimes it is not just me that isn't kept informed.

Whilst Alice had free accommodation here, her roommates were not so lucky, they had to take rooms in the Shijia hotel opposite me. They had all arranged an end of term party for Thursday night and booked transport to their various homes on Friday so could not leave earlier without spoiling plans. Still, it's a cheap hotel, two girls to a room, so my guess is it cost them about £7 a night per head.

On Saturday I met with Janet's friend's son to go into his IELTS coaching. In general conversation he wasn't drastically bad although there were many errors. We agreed to meet again yesterday morning.

It was then that I understood the magnitude of what I was being asked to do. Bear in mind the examiners have anything in the order of fifty to a hundred applicants per day to sit and listen to their interminable answers, I had to be quite brutal. I told him that despite having a book of sample questions he had carried out no preparation and quite apart from the dreadful English, he continually hesitated, lost for any form of answer or even waffle. An examiner would fail him mentally within seconds of the interview commencing.

It is daunting and may well turn out to be my first ever failure but I will go down with guns blazing. He has homework now to complete before we meet the next time.

Last night I took Alice out for dinner, having given her the choice of where we went. She's not keen on Japanese (anyway, too far away in this bone-chilling cold) and opted for a hotpot. Fine, I said but then remembering she loves prawns I suggested the little restaurant I first found when I stayed in an hotel on my arrival in Lanzhou. Her face lit up.

They do great sweet pork and a delicious prawn dry hotpot. She was as happy as a pig in clover. There was even enough left of the prawns for her to get a doggy bag for lunch today, not to mention the doughnuts and cream cakes I bought after the meal from a bakery.

Now as you know on Wednesday we fly to Chengdu and return on Sunday. Her plan had been to return to her hometown of Baiyin on Monday. Last night I learnt the reason: it's her Mum's birthday on the Tuesday.

I have now booked into an hotel there for two nights so as to attend the restaurant and surprise her mum at her party. We will therefore both be taking a coach a week from Monday. The coach takes an hour by all accounts and the train anything from two to three! Doesn't make sense.

Tonight I'm making chicken shish, tomorrow as she is going to visit friends for the night I have only myself to please so who knows? Tuesday, because I don't want washing up left (I need to be up at six Weds) I am going to attempt calzone for the first time, wish me luck. On our return there are lasagna in the freezer in aluminium trays. Yes, I still plan ahead even though said plans often end up in disarray!