Valentines Day, 2013      1830

They promised today would be miserable and they were right. Non-stop rain all day so the only times I have been out so far have been to take Pepsi for a call of nature and a quick run to the shop. I hope they have it right for tomorrow and Saturday because tomorrow I want to buy more food and on Saturday collect more cigars. They are saying 18C and sunny on Sat so I could take the bike instead of having a route march to get to the city centre like last time.

Still, I have at least done things today, a load of washing up,  cleaned the floor and am currently baking bread to go with my chilli tonight. The animals have a different dinner tonight - I’m not sure what I got them but I suspect it may be chicken hearts, about a hundred of them! I have failed miserably in my idea to prepare some activities for lessons though, but having said that it is not urgent. The first week will consist of getting all the students to regale their classmates with tales of what they got up to during the break.

Friday 15th        1800

There’s a lot happening in the world news lately, what with a famous athlete being charged with murder, 400 being injured by a meteorite in Russia, people being able to buy a share in a horse by purchasing lasagne etc but one item has attracted my attention in particular. The story of the Carnival Triumph which suffered an engineroom fire and consequently lost power and propulsion.

World media have been milking it for all it’s worth, quoting passengers and the grim details of how they were forced to sleep on deck, the toilets overflowed so the vessel was awash with human waste etc. The bloody thing broke down and just like a car, when it is buggered the aircon doesn’t work and it doesn’t move. No power, no pumps to pump water through the toilet system. The reason there was pee everywhere was because the very people complaining - the passengers - were still using the loos when they were defunct. Ok I don’t know all the details but having a wee in the scuppers isn’t beyond most and having a dump in a bucket so you can throw it overboard is; whilst not exactly normally part of a luxury cruise; an option in such circumstances. Mechanical things refuse to work sometimes and it is difficult to know what more the cruise company could have done short of conjuring up an empty liner to transfer everyone at sea.

Nice and dry and a little warmer today so at lunchtime I made another foray into town. This time Ke Bi Wang was open, indeed it appears everything is getting back to normal judging by the amount of people outside the rail and bus stations. Sadly I arrived at KBW a little late and thus could only watch helplessly as the chap in front of me snaffled the last of the sweet pork. The result of this was that I ended up with (aside from egg) a vegetarian meal comprising cucumber, bean sprouts, rice and mushrooms. Wholly unsatisfactory and it will mean cheese on toast for me later. I did though get to wish JinJun a happy new year. I really wish we could communicate but of course the blame lies with me as a foreigner for not having the local tongue.

Coming back it became apparent that whilst going into town and with nobody here and the campus being the first/last stop for the bus I have no problems getting a seat, returning is another matter. Thankfully I managed to bag the last seat outside Lottemart but I will lay odds I won’t be able to do it again for a long while. The bike is now on charge for me to take tomorrow.

When I got back I took Pepsi to the little fish shop village where I stood outside having a quiet couple of bottles watching the world go by and contemplating life. I spent quite a while observing the small rice paddy and the animals there. It was nice to see dogs, cats, geese, ducks and chickens all together scrounging for food without any cares. Well, apart from a ginger tom who wandered too close to the hens and was chased away by one of the two cockerels there who clearly hasn’t read the animal pecking order guide book.

Another quiet night in. Although it will mean I have to work again I am in a way looking forward to the place coming alive again.