Sunday 28th April, 2013                 1000

Apologies for the hiatus but hopefully you will understand the reason for my silence in due course.

Just as in a Tom Sharpe novel where seemingly unconnected events ultimately all collide to produce an hilarious ending, they can in real life combine to create disaster for someone.

A few days after Hebe’s sad suicide I was teaching a unit to several of my classes which covered fake and shoddy goods. In it, mention was made of fake medicines, so by way of delivering what was to me a sensible warning, I mentioned that I took various medications daily (nothing of course I hadn’t disclosed in my application before coming to China) and on no account should they ever be tempted by low prices to buy such things online.

On Friday afternoon I received a call from Cinny which seemed like a “nothing” call - there was no substance to it and no apparent reason for it being made. Except - and almost as a “by the way” - she said at the end she had heard from the students that I took medicines every day, was it true and was it anything serious? I didn’t lie (pointless anyway as all that was needed was a glance at my application) and the call ended. I thought it was an odd thing to have been asked but attached no weight to it.

At about six o’clock, two hours later, Cinny stopped to see me outside the supermarket where I was sitting chatting to a couple of my students. She had something personal to tell me. This could only portend something gloomy so I suggested we move out of earshot of other people. The Chinese way of imparting bad news is to try to make it all fluffy first so as to lessen the pain when they run a sword through your heart and she had barely started on this course when I guessed. I said to her, “I’ve lost my job, haven’t I?” I was right.

I hadn’t seen that coming at all and I cannot begin to describe the depths my heart sank to. At Christmas I had been assured I could stay for the following year and now here I was being told that in just over two months I was finished here. I did of course ask the reasons behind this and naturally received nice cuddly ones which I didn’t believe for one minute. In a daze, I sent a message to a student apologising because I would not be able to attend their English corner/party (merely saying something had happened), collected Pepsi and rode home to try and collect my thoughts. I was surprised to find that Kevin was still here as he normally teaches downtown but it had been cancelled due to a power cut. I duly knocked on his door and gave him the news. He looked as if I had punched him on the nose - indeed apparently when he told Prof Fang’s assistant her reaction was an incredulous “Not Steve??!!” My thoughts exactly.

Kevin asked what reason had I been given - one of which was there wouldn’t be enough classes next term - which was clearly false unless they were expelling 250 students part way through their course. I made the comment to him that suddenly that little conversation regarding medicines I had had with Cinny suddenly seemed sinister.

Back in my flat my mind engaged overdrive. I became more and more convinced my deduction was right, that they had suddenly come to the conclusion I would drop dead at any time. For reasons that are entirely beyond me, schools here are held accountable for the health of their foreign teachers - mad I know, but that’s the way it is.

Then of course the ramifications manifested themselves. Three cats and a dog to try to re-home urgently. I have booked a break in the UK and now if I found another job (won’t be a problem but I may not be so lucky in respect of job satisfaction) I would face two months without pay even if my new employer allowed me to move in early so at least I had a roof. I am not in a position survive two months without pay, my fault I know but I was up the proverbial creek without so much as a spoon, let alone a paddle. And of course let’s not forget having to say goodbye to my students which was going to destroy me.

I slept very little that night.

The following day, Saturday (we are working this weekend) I resolved to go and see Prof Fang and see if there was any way I could get the decision rescinded. To that end I terminated my second class a few minutes early in order to catch her in her office before she left for lunch but was thwarted as she had already left. Undeterred, I returned half an hour earlier than afternoon classes start and she was there but with two people with her so I waited. When they left she couldn’t talk as she had a meeting to attend elsewhere so I said I would come back after class.

Just to turn the screws even more the meeting overran and I camped out for forty minutes near her office, determined to have a definite answer before she left for the day. In her office I was given various reasons, one of which was the 5 year “rule” which is in reality a guideline and not a law, whereby foreign teachers shouldn’t stay more than 5 years at one school. I pointed out that I had only been here for three. The other reasons made no sense to me (although I have been here long enough to know that to the Chinese they would) and eventually I told her what I though was the real reason - namely that the school suddenly thought I was going to expire midway through my next lesson. I was right. I pointed out that nothing medically apart from my accident had altered since the first day I came through the south gate three years ago and that I was not ill per se, I simply had conditions and indeed had taken these pills for 28 years, half of my life.

There ensued a chat about how I give my all to this place and I was given extremely nice compliments which I believe were entirely meant and I sensed she did not want to see me go either. It also emerged that Prof Fang had begged Hebe’s parents to take her away from the school but the father insisted she should stay and even drew up a document which he signed to say that the school wasn’t to be held accountable. In the event and notwithstanding his assurances, after her death he more or less blackmailed the school - presumably with bad publicity - and this being China they reportedly ended up shelling out 150,000y in hush money.

So a student suicide, a helpful comment in class by me, innocent comments by students, a phone call and a grieving father all joined forces to detonate a bomb to shatter my world on Friday night.

The upshot was that she has agreed I can stay another year and as I was leaving she said “So we have an understanding then?” to which I responded “Yes, I understand that I have another year and you understand that this time next year I will be back asking for another year!” Either way at least the weight is gone from my shoulders for now and I have the chance to do some serious saving next year so that if the worst happens at least I will not have to worry about two months unpaid holiday.

I really, really don’t want to leave but at least this way I will get to see my three 4 year classes (Joanna’s, Vivian’s and Balance’s) graduate. It will still be a wrench to leave my new ones though.

I could accept it far more readily if it happened after just one year and the reason was, genuinely, that I am a useless teacher. But I’m not even if I do say so myself! Enjoy your Sunday folks, at least I can be Mr Happy in this afternoon’s class - the poor souls yesterday must have wondered what had happened to their usual foreign teacher that day!