Thursday 21st February, 2013           1700

It is apparent after Kevin downloaded his schedule that he does indeed have two of my classes down for him to teach this term. Call me idiotic if you wish but I intend (with his blessing of course - less work for him!) to try and have them given back to me.

They were the first students I ever taught in my life and as such I became attached and I feel it unfair to deprive me of seeing them through to the end, given that I have had other classes foisted upon me for just one term. I don’t know if I will be successful but I can at least try. I am sure Kevin thinks I am bonkers because it would increase my workload by a quarter and of course as it would be at my request there would be no additional remuneration. However, they are like your first anything, first lover, child etc - special, and they mean something. Wish me luck.

It’s a cold day today and one on which I am doing absolutely nothing bar baking bread. I am not even going out to the shop although I will give Pepsi a stretch shortly.

Friday 22nd                      1900

Not the day I had anticipated. At least the school owner telephoned me BEFORE I left! He had asked me to have a “lesson” with a new beginner of English. I think she has only started trying to learn English during the holidays and is returning to Korea to her school there, she is in her early twenties.

We were supposed to be going for dinner tonight. That is, the owner and all the full time teachers plus me. He normally treats us twice a year but being his usual disorganised self he left the invitations to the last minute and some of the others have prior arrangements so it has been postponed until tomorrow night.

Bloody marvellous. I normally only eat once a day and I am having lunch with Crystal tomorrow. The plan was (and still is) to ride to town and after lunch go food shopping. Today was nice and warmish and tomorrow is forecast to be 17C so it was ideal. Aside from the fact there is no way on earth I will be hungry again for six o’clock, it now means I will have to ride back home after shopping and then bus it into town. I would stay there and go straight to dinner but I don’t fancy riding back after sunset because it will be perishing cold again. I have though warned him that although I may not eat much but my ale capacity will not be impaired.

Joanna returns to campus tomorrow so I am hoping to take her for dinner Sunday or Monday. She will be my new internet shopper. Cinny and I have an appointment to see the secretary on Monday to sort out my retaking of my students. One class is definitely not a problem as they already have a classroom and time allocated and I am free at that time. I will try to get it moved to 1020 instead of 0820 though, I don’t want to be getting up at half six most of the week. Joanna’s class will be the problem if there is one - hers needs to be shifted to another time and probably room as well. I think I will be buying a box of chocolates for the secretary just to make sure it happens!

As I said earlier, today was lovely and so I went to the local shop for wine. I also had the matter of tonight’s dinner to think of. Although I didn’t have much cash on me I could have gone to an ATM and onwards to the city but instead I went to the fish shop where I bought the makings of a frittata. Not food I am particularly enamoured of, but I thought the Thai sweet chilli sauce might make it far more interesting, so that is now waiting in the bathroom for me to slam in the oven.

As for Qing, a wall of silence for a few days now so I don’t know what is going on there. But then this is China and I do know she does her own thing.

While I was sipping a bottle near the fish place and watching half a dozen biddies gutting small fish just using their hands, a fellow teacher strolled down the dirt track, obviously having just returned after the break. She was hungry and looking for dinner. We chatted for a while and then she tried to order her dinner. Too early, so she walked off forlornly to go and cook for herself. I felt a little guilty because when I explained what I was making this evening she said she had never tried it. Maybe she was angling for an invitation but in honesty it would have been far too late for her.

When I left I decided to detour with Pepsi to see if the restaurants near the south gate have reopened. Three have, including the sweet pork place so I stopped for another pijou. I was sorely tempted to withdraw some cash from the cash point fifty yards away and eat there but resisted temptation.

As for Pepsi, I don’t know whether I am winning or losing the battle with her mange. The places I have treated have dried up which is good, but she seems to be losing a lot of fur and a new outbreak has appeared on her chest. I really don’t want to have to take her to the vets every four days for injections again - most days are still cold at present - and I can of course do without spending money if I can help it. I do feel embarrassed when I take her out though, people must think I don’t care and I have no way of explaining the situation to them. If necessary I will of course pay whatever is necessary to get her right again but for now she gets the spray. She hates it because it stinks and afterwards always runs around the room shaking herself and then rubbing herself on her bed.