Monday 2nd December, 2013            1930

It’s been a hectic time since I last wrote, not least of all the house move which took place yesterday.

A dozen of my students along with Ollivier plus car arrived to shift my stuff and within 90 minutes everything had been moved across including the fridge/freezer. The cats and Pepsi were more problematic, the former being hard to catch to put in the cage, the latter most averse to entering a strange building. But I was in the new place.

Last night was Ollivier’s birthday so he took his wife, Kevin and me to the sweet pork place to celebrate. The Korean teacher was supposed to go too but changed her mind at the last minute. I think I know why.

Cats are sensitive creatures. Nigh on all their lives they have only ever known one environment - my old flat. It stands to reason that when you uproot them and change their surroundings - their world - they will be confused. And so of course they miaowed and will probably do so for a few days.

Now, within a couple of hours the Korean Kow was complaining to Ollivier’s wife that she already couldn’t sleep at nights due to the wild dogs barking outside and so had taken to sleeping in the afternoons instead. Now she said, with my cats crying she couldn’t sleep at all. Ollivier’s wife Coco explained why they were crying and that it would take a few days for them to settle down.

Notwithstanding this, I understand that this morning the Kow went to the teachers office and lodged a complaint - one which was relayed to Kevin to pass on to me. By all accounts Kevin became irate (most welcome) because here we have someone who has been at this university for all of three months and already is stirring up trouble. I have a strong feeling of déjà vu because exactly the same happened with the last Korean Kow - and she was fired after one term. I am rather hoping the same will happen again. She even stated my dog was barking all night. The fact is, Pepsi slept beside my bed the entire night so if she was barking I think I would have known about it. I heard the wild dogs myself - in fact I can hear one now. Doubtless to her I now own that one too.

I also understand she has written a letter to the foreign affairs department threatening that if things don’t improve she will leave. I hope she does. However I feel this will prompt another meeting, one which I hope Ollivier and Kevin will also attend along with this woman. She is rather throwing stones from a glass house because apparently (having only been here one night I have not experienced it) she is prone to speaking very loud, slamming her door and having her TV volume up too high. I won’t go into the fact that she finishes her classes before the bell and according to students often conducts her “lessons” in a restaurant somewhere  or that she makes students come to her home after school.

On a lighter note, I have had a visit from an ex-student of mine who was teaching in Shanghai but has now returned to teach here in one of their affiliate schools. She and a colleague treated me to dinner this evening (sweet pork place two nights on the trot) and her headmaster is coming to collect me tomorrow to treat me to a western restaurant. All because I have agreed to be their Santa Claus on 22nd December when they hold their Christmas party.

So I leave you for now with a full agenda and a black heart. I await official communication re being an antisocial neighbour.