Friday 6th December, 2013           2010

Not a week I would wish to relive. From Monday to Thursday I was stewing over what the Korean teacher had said and my ire increased as the time for the meeting (yesterday afternoon) approached.

Olivier wasn’t happy because he has gone to his wife’s hometown of Shandong, where he will leave her and the baby before returning sometime next week alone. I think the wife will remain there until after spring festival, at which point they will play “musical babies” and the older child will come to live here with them whilst the grandparents tend to the wee one.

Kevin had plenty to do in advance of leaving this lunchtime but he wasn’t going to miss the meeting for anything - if truth be known, he was far angrier than I was. He along with another teacher and our man of the hour Jim all left for Beijing today for the national finals of the speaking competition. The best wishes of the college go with them although despite never having been to the capital I am not in the slightest envious of Kevin. Instead of a two hour flight he is faced with a three hour bus ride to Hefei and then an over night train to Beijing! Bugger that.

Anyway, we had our meeting. It started acrimoniously of course, with the British contingent firing a couple of huge broadsides. This was followed by tactical shooting and much Chinese justification of the language barrier between the Korean and ourselves - something we dismissed time and again simply because there are enough students who speak Chinese and English and Chinese and Korean for her to have obtained one to accompany her and visit me with her concerns. At one point she stood up, smacked the table and launched into a speech, close to tears and I‘m not sure everything we hurled in her direction was translated to her because I think she would have passed out. At this point I had hardly unpacked any of my stuff in the new place because I was quite prepared to move back to the old draughty abode rather than dispose of my little family to please her.

Great pains were taken to inform us that the meeting wasn’t an official one but to us, with the foreign affairs department in attendance it certainly felt like one. The long and the short of it is - and being charitable - the Korean teacher (Park) now realises the correct way to initially address a grievance with a colleague. Personally I don’t think she quite realised the chain of events she had put in motion and I sincerely believe she now regrets ever uttering a word.

We are now all the best of friends. Afterwards we all broke bread and drank each others’ health (on the school’s money!) and Park admitted that by yesterday the cats had settled and agreed it was the wild dogs and not mine which bark all night. She has even threatened to invite me to her home for some Korean food, although I suggested she should also invite an interpreter. At least now I can slowly start to unpack and get back to a situation where I know where things are and can cook my own food.

Today was an easier Friday than of late because my afternoon class had asked me if I could teach them yesterday instead. I was happy as it meant a finish at noon today. It gave me the chance for a much needed afternoon nap.

It’s freezing here tonight - well not freezing but down to 5C at present and surprisingly the forecast for Kevin in Beijing is only about five degrees colder than here. Most disappointing - I was hoping to have a chuckle at his expense.

When I went to the campus supermarket after my nap, no sooner had I walked in than one of the staff exclaimed and gesticulated wildly in what I assumed was a reference to my girth. I thought it most odd because she has seen me every day for three years so it is hardly a surprise. Gesturing me to wait, she ran out to her e-bike and returned with some black jeans she thought would fit me! Indeed they would as they were 38” waist but I have never worn jeans. I politely declined to purchase them and softened it by demonstrating to her that were I to wear trousers over - rather than under - the gut, I would need about 48”. This caused much hilarity among her co-workers so at least I brought laughter to someone today!

I have been trying to upload the dvd to YouTube for three days solid so far but with no success as yet. I shall persevere and hope that at some point everyone can view it.