Sunday 2nd June, 2013          1600

No rain today although cool enough to warrant a jacket for the morning ride to town, said jacket needing to be dispensed with on the return journey because by that time it was too warm.

My two classes turned into three, due in part I think to the fact the owner (who is somewhat absent minded) suddenly remembered I am unavailable next weekend and we agreed today would be my last. Rather gratifyingly all the kids behaved and I “lost” five minutes of each one because the owner’s wife presented him with a baby boy on Friday night, their first and probably last. The custom here does not involve wetting the baby’s head, instead the father distributes sweets to all and sundry so the kids were pleased as he came to all of them acting like Willie Wonka.

I had lunch in KFC of an unusual kind - rice, chicken fritters, Italian vegetables, sweet corn salad and fishball soup. Better than their coriander-laden burgers! For once when I shopped in Lottemart I spent more on myself than the animals. I actually found three shirts which near enough fit me! Usually when that happens they are of the dearer variety and between 150-200y but these were only 59y each. Had they had more colours I would have snapped them up as well.

Monday 3rd         1830

And back up to thirty degrees. I flipping woke up at 0530, an hour before I needed to, so wasn’t happy. Today was the last class of term for all the three classes today and my activity for this week was what I believed to be a stroke of genius - something along the lines of “Catchphrase” where I slowly pieced pictures together on the board and the students had to guess which proverb it was. In half an hour the first lot only managed to get three right so I allowed them to use their phones for the internet in the subsequent ones which produced a better hit rate.

When I finished and Kevin and I were sitting on our bikes chatting his phone rang. His assistant. It didn’t take me long to guess that the conversation concerned our passports - remember we handed them in in good time but then they were returned? Suddenly our breathtakingly incompetent foreign affairs officer has twigged our residents permits expire in two days and she has to take them to the police station tomorrow for renewal. We of course are supposed to drop everything for this complete waste of office space who is incapable of looking after three foreigners.

Of course, we need up to date papers so are over a barrel but it didn’t stop either of us having some fun by not simply asking “how high” when asked to jump. In fact when Kevin’s assistant contacted me by text (never heard her phone call) I really milked the panic. If either of us were as abysmal at our jobs as that woman our feet wouldn’t touch the ground until we were on the next departing China Southern flight.

Anyway, I have all but decided to utilise the remaining sausages by attempting toad in the hole one evening during the dragon boat holiday. A western Wednesday with a difference because we won’t invite students this time - not enough food - although I have said to Kevin if Daisy is still around she can come. She will leave for good soon and I know it will affect him badly as they are very close. I just hope nobody thinks it will be any great shakes because the bangers have skins like rhinos and the stuffing; while edible; is rather dry. I wish I could simply go and buy even Tesco Value ones!