Thursday 17th January, 2013        1245

Thankfully instead of throwing my plunger out the supervisor had snaffled it for her own bathroom and 305 retrieved it. As I have long since swapped a traditional mop to a refillable sponge one, using a mop to unblock the lav is no longer an option.

When I went out last night I found out the extent to which the tomtoms have been beating and the size of the rumours which have sprung up. On no less than three occasions students of mine came for a chat and after a minute or two all of them (all girls) gave me a sheepish look and said “can I ask you a question?”

Said question was of course, “are you getting married?”

It would seem that the very act of going to Tongling to meet Qing’s family was sufficient to push the campus rumour mill into overdrive. I have engaged in damage limitation insofar as I have stressed we are just friends (in the hope that the rebuttal will spread equally swiftly) but I feel it is akin to breaking wind directly into a force ten gale. And if the students are saying these things you can bet your bottom dollar the faculty know. I don’t think Qing helped the situation either on Monday.

I spotted the building supervisor when we came home. In the past there have been occasions where students moved into empty flats and have been reported, followed by a school deputation to evict them. The last thing I need is to have a knock at my door and a row over a legitimate guest, so I asked her just to tell the supervisor that she was staying with me at my invitation. After she did so and we came home I asked her what she had said. “I told her I was sleeping with you”. God give me strength!

The original plan had been for her to return here today but now it will be tomorrow or even the weekend. She wants to talk to her family about her future and get their advice. She doesn’t know whether to go to Sydney, forget that and go east to find a job or to stay here/Tongling and get a job. I’m not sure of her thinking, but my opinion is that if her folks can afford her subsistence in Oz (the Chinese govt pays the fees) then she should go and obtain an excellent qualification which will open many doors here for her. I am sure it will come up in conversation with me.

2000

This being China, things are ever in flux. She may come back Saturday but it may be Sunday. An uncle is visiting to bring her a gift and depending on when he comes will decide which day she will come here.

From our computer chat it is apparent her head is in a spin. Dad wants her to study in Oz, an uncle wants her to study Arabic in Hefei and then work for her company and she has thoughts of going east. I personally don’t think it is anyone’s right to decide the rest of her life other than hers, so the best I can do is, when we talk about it, point out the pros and cons of each option she is considering. I am not going to try to sway her at all - after all, my preferred option (teaching here) is not among the choices! What a complicated web life is, and few more complicated than in China.

Anyway, life is for living.

Last night I made another loaf of bread. For the first time since owning my own bread machine I seem to have stumbled on the optimum quantities to make a good loaf. The problem before? My guess is that all the manufacturers recipes for machines sold here don’t specify enough water - hence my previous attempts have all emerged as contenders for the next sports day’s shot for putting.

When I went out earlier I stocked up on soap, tissues, shampoo and toilet rolls to last through the shutdown. I couldn’t of course fit the paper toiletries in the bike storage so hung them from the bungee straps which secure the top box to stop it rattling. When Pepsi and I got back, somewhere along the way - about a 150 yard ride - a pack of a dozen loo rolls had detached themselves. I grabbed the dog and set about retracing the route. Some lucky bastard now hasn’t got to spend money on going to the toilet for some time because there was no sign of it! Another 15y I have to spend now.