Monday 12th November, 2012       0030

There is no entry for yesterday because it took an unexpected turn!

I had two classes downtown between 1550 and 1720 and although we had bright sunshine it wasn’t that warm, so bearing in mind I was going to be riding home in the dark and the chill I had the foresight to don the lower part of some long johns. I was thankful I did, as you will see later.

In the kids school the owner asked if it was ok for some of the Chinese teachers to sit in on my lessons as they had asked in order to learn some pronunciation. Either that or he has told them to! I said it wasn’t a problem and indeed in my first class Kerry sat in. The children were so well behaved I nearly passed out. If all my classes were like that I would love it. In fact they were so good I had to force myself to leave the last ten minutes aside so they could play the picture game, it wouldn’t have been fair otherwise when every other class gets it. Kerry’s reactions to the enthusiasm the students worked up in desperately trying to beat the other team suggested to me not only has she never seen anything like it before but also I think I may not be the only one who plays it at that school for much longer.

The second class were very familiar to me - meaning normally fairly naughty. However, I was informed they had just taken an exam and their teacher (who didn’t sit in) asked if I could teach a dozen new words from the unit in the book and then let them relax. Fine by me, so I told the class about the five lives and no game rule and we would do the new words first, after that we would play. They already knew the supposedly new words so most of the lesson was the game! But fun.

I had left and was riding home, having travelled about a mile, when my phone rang. I stopped and answered - the call was from another teacher here at the university. She was with some friends and they would like to meet me and take me for dinner. I agreed because I was so close to town (they would have collected me from home anyway) and I was asked to call Kevin to see if he would come as well. He was tied up but I rode back to an agreed rendezvous point in the full knowledge that although I would be getting a free dinner something would be required in return, it always is. I was picked up by a 5-series BMW.

The something in return was not as I suspected private English tuition for a child, but help with his company setting up exports to the UK! I haven’t a clue what he makes other than that it involves steel. I am awaiting further clarification. He also wants to set me up with a ready-made family. She is 35 and “very pretty” so I asked that if she was that pretty why was she not married? Divorced with a 7yo son. Not a barrier to me, but his idea of gorgeous may be completely at odds with mine! It was also suggested that for Chinese new year they take me to Shandong province (warmer in the houses there at that time of winter) and so I played my Get Out Of Jail card - I can’t because of the animals. Didn’t work - he has a pedigree dog that by all accounts cost him 50,000y (£5,000) and would arrange for all my animals to be looked after or alternatively be transported to Shandong with us! Bloody hell.

Anyway, they took me to dinner in a “tent” restaurant similar to the one I tried in Meilong in the summer. About 18 months ago I had found myself kicked off the No 7 bus when I missed my stop and it terminated in that road. I remember blogging about all the tent cafes and saying one day I would go there to eat - tonight was that day.

The meal was typically Chinese and not really satisfying for me. Hotpots with fish and something akin to duck, tofu and vegetable dishes plus whole crabs. There is an art to eating crabs with no nutcrackers and an intact shell and to be fair he taught me how to do it just using my fingers.

After a while he turned to me and said “car-ok”. He speaks no English but I said “ok, but WC first”. I assumed what he said was that we would leave and he would drive us back to where I left my bike. I started to become a tad concerned when I noticed we were driving in the opposite direction to my bike but kept quiet. Ah! He was taking the woman who was at dinner home first, phew. She got out and then we continued going away from where I needed to go, so now I thought it best to say something. I asked the other teacher where the hell we were going. It was then that I discovered what Mr Shoo’s “car-ok” really meant. Karaoke. Oh Lord.

I can’t fault the guy for giving me an excruciating couple of hours listening to him and our companions caterwauling through Chinese songs and even demanding I sing one (Daydream Believer) very badly just to prove I was telling the truth about my inability to become a pop star. I can’t even fault him for not providing enough beer for the only one drinking it instead of Chinese tea - me - or for instantly deciding that even though he had already paid for the private room and after five minutes I had said I was going out to buy a bottle of red for later when I got home, that he would take me back and they would all leave. As much as I never wanted to go in the first place I would not be so churlish as to curtail four other people’s evenings entertainment. Well, not while I could at least have a pijou!

Nonetheless it was eleven before I was dropped off at my bike. Then I was really thankful I had put the long johns on because by the time I arrived back on campus I noticed frosty car windscreens. I had leather gloves but still my hands got cold on the ride so tomorrow I will stow my gauntlets under the saddle. Now it is nearly two in the morning (don’t worry, I am not teaching until after lunch tomorrow) and it is the end of a busy, interesting and highly bizarre five days!

It will be good to get back to work for a rest.

Monday 12th        1730

On the way up the stairs to my afternoon class I was followed by some of the girls in it. One was carrying a carton which I assumed held small 250ml packs of UHT milk seeing as that was what was advertised on it. Jokingly I asked if it was for me but she changed the subject, instead informing me that she had an interesting story to tell me. I of course told her to save it and share it with the class.

The story went as follows: The other night she found a kitten shivering in the cold and took pity on it, taking it to her dormitory to keep warm and get a feed of Chinese ham sausage. After a couple of days the supervisor…….by this time the contents of the milk box was becoming vocal and you can guess as I did as to what it contained……..informed her that pets were not allowed. You know the rest - the newest member of the family is Lottie (see photo). Another one that looks to have been abandoned by mum at too early an age.

She is currently getting her bearings and being stalked by the three adult felines plus being sniffed at by the canine ones. So far there is no blood. And no, I didn’t want yet another pet but it is difficult to refuse in front of a class of mostly 19 yo girls who are looking to you to be the saviour of this helpless mite with winter fast approaching. With Robin staying out most nights these days (although she just HAD to come home this afternoon to investigate the new arrival) it won’t cost me anything more by way of food. I just pray she doesn’t (and  think it is a she) wreak any more destruction than the others. So far she has found the food and eaten lustily, had a drink and hopefully will realise what the litter bowl is for in due course. And naughtiness aside, cats are far easier to care for than dogs.