Monday 28th April, 2014             1245

Yes, I know that yet again it has been a long time but I have been incredibly busy. I had thought my weekend would be quiet but it ended up as anything but. However I shall make up for it with a load of photos taken on Friday by Ollivier.

Friday was tiring, what with a full day of teaching and then an evening Korean corner we were invited to. To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to it at all - there are so many “corners” this term that they are becoming monotonous and therefore a chore. However, unbeknown to me the Korean teacher (Park) had really invested a lot of time and money into the show, for when we arrived many of the girl students were dressed in traditional Korean dresses. At that point I guessed I might actually enjoy it.

When we got to our seats of honour (Kevin never came as he had previous commitments) there were plates of cucumber, delicious sushi, a frittata type thing, oranges, a dip, beer, some flavoured wine and what I assume was traditional Korean soju. Being tired and having not had long between the start of the show and finishing classes, I had been pondering on what I could eat quickly for my dinner afterwards but the problem dissolved - I didn’t need to eat after that lot. The frittata was delicious up until the point I encountered something crunchy in the egg mix and my mouth was consumed by an inferno.

The show itself was very good, especially the girls who performed the fan routine and the whole thing only lasted about an hour and a quarter - the perfect length and when they apologised at the end for its briefness I could honestly say that it was just right.

On Saturday I went downtown because the little school had an “emergency”. I had been told I wasn’t required but I was asked to help out by entertaining a class due to an absence. At least I also did my shopping. In the evening all the foreigners had arranged to go to a barbecue restaurant, the occasion being the brief visit of another Korean teacher from Ollivier’s previous school. It was a nice evening, I took Amy and once again marvelled at the quantities of food such a small girl can devour but at least she got her (and my) money’s worth.

I can’t recall if I mentioned that we have been asked to take part in a show on May 6th but instead of doing something such as singing I have devised a short play we can all take part in, where I am a customs officer at Heathrow and the other three are arriving passengers. Kevin is sorting out a visual of an airport terminal footage and a soundtrack of announcements. Meanwhile, I didn’t have a short sleeved white shirt for once in my life so I went in search on Sunday. The biggest one Lottemart could offer was about a foot adrift at the midriff and nowhere else had anything either so I went in search of a tailor to have one made. I wore my legs out pacing the backstreets off East Street to no avail, then went to West Street where I found one but he only makes suits, not shirts. It was a complete waste of a Sunday afternoon and now one has had to be ordered online in the hope it will arrive before the May labour holiday. Then I will be faced with the choice of trying to find a seamstress to produce buttonholes for my epaulettes or just poking holes in myself and ruining it.

Once again when I returned yesterday I was dog-tired but took Pepsi to the campus shops where I intended to have just a swift pijou. At this point Ollivier sent me a text saying they (the family) were going to collect some parcels and go to the barber because Coco had “made a disaster” with their son’s hair. Disaster was too mild a word to use, in fact what she had done was a downright crime. The poor kid looked as if he had decided to become a Buddhist monk and then changed his mind halfway through the haircut. I pointed them in the direction of my barber Barry Manilow, who did his best to rectify it as well as shearing Ollivier but I feel the kid has been left mentally scarred for life. See the after Coco’s butchery and the after the barber had done his best pictures.

Last night, tired though I was, I checked and edited one of the Chinese teacher’s papers, which from the content is part of his doctorate (edit: it IS for his doctorate). Actually there was very little wrong with the English (aside from too many American spellings) but it was excruciatingly long and boring, being all about the minutiae of how rice plants change as they grow. After that I then had to rewrite an email Vivian (one of my graduating students) had composed to send to businessmen as part of her job working for a webbing supplies company. Before I knew it, it was time to take Pepsi for her late night outing.

This week is set fair with temperatures supposed to be low to mid twenties and not before time either - summer seems to be late arriving this year. I have one more class this afternoon, one tomorrow afternoon and then four days off until Sunday for the Labour holiday, although I have to teach Friday’s lessons on Sunday. If I had enough money I would have loved to have gone to Nanjing again to see Joanna but I don’t if I want to stay in a good hotel rather than an expensive hovel.

1930

During this afternoon’s class (not Amy’s class which was in the morning) before we commenced the activity I warned quite clearly that if I so much as saw anyone looking at a mobile phone (because they could easily cheat and it IS just for fun) the game would be instantly cancelled. Not long after we started, lo and behold, I spotted a girl at the back doing something with her mobile. Not wanting to be a total killjoy I went to her and for the sake of clarity told her if I saw it again that would be it - over.

This girl obviously thought I say things and don’t mean them, for less than two minutes later she was at it again! Incredulous, I told the class that was it, no game today. I also pointed the person responsible out to them just so they knew who had spoiled the fun for the other thirty-odd students. There were pleas to restart the game but I was so incensed at the disrespect of the girl I wasn’t budging so they certainly learnt a very different lesson today - I mean what I say. Regardless of how she behaves from now until exam time that lass has lost serious marks in her final test (behaviour in class is a factor in the total score so she just lost the lot). If I was certain of staying here for a respectable time I would certainly be considering buying a mobile phone signal jamming device to take to my classes - in particular I would need to ascertain if the range would just be my classroom or whether all the other classes in the building would be affected! Not worried about the students but the teachers might not be too happy!

Wednesday 23rd April, 2014                1245

On Saturday I managed to get to town, do my shopping and have lunch then get back before the promised rain arrived - which never in fact materialised - so much for the dire warnings that were issued.

Sunday saw me going back again, this time to accompany two classes of kids to the science museum. I felt obliged to show my face because previously I had been asked for my ideas on what the little school could do to improve. More outings was one of my suggestions. Quite why the place is called the science museum escapes me, for it was small and contained absolutely nothing to do with science - in fact it was more a glorified amusement arcade for children. The best part about it was the 4D cinema - not for me but the children, who of course loved being terrified. For my part, I got the broken seat which was at an angle of 30 degrees to the horizontal but which I was assured by staff would return to normal once the film started. It didn’t and as a consequence when the water started squirting from concealed holes (it was a pirate film) I got ever so slightly damp. The only good thing was that admission is free. I have suggested that at some point they should take a trip to Apricot Village, at least there I can mess about in boats.

Now on Saturday night, having been informed that a teacher had left the small school that day (Susan) I sent a message to one of my students who had been at the graduation lunch (also Susan) asking if anyone in her class lived locally and was looking for a job. As luck would have it, she lives here and wants a teaching job so she came with me on Sunday and her first “interview” was to demonstrate her control of kids in public places. She is back there some time today to give a lesson, after which she will learn if she can work there.

On Monday the rain came which, whilst not the threatened deluge, was nonetheless unremitting in that it never stopped. Yesterday was grey but dry and today is a mixture of sunshine and clouds and reasonably mild. Yesterday Ollivier and I were having a beer or two in my “office” when his wife Coco complained he shouldn’t drink. Upon my protestations to the contrary I was then informed that he had had what sounds like indigestion (possibly caused by a peptic ulcer) for a month and tomorrow they were going to the hospital, where she has seemingly booked him a barium meal and x-ray. This is also a perfect occasion on which to hitch a lift and stock up on cheap (£1.50 a bottle) wine, something hard to do with limited space on the bike. My initial, poorly thought out, plan had been for them to drop me off at RT Mart while I did my shopping and then went to McDonalds to wait for them. They are going shopping there afterwards anyway and I ultimately realised that if I did this then I would have to lug half a case of plonk plus other items by hand. I think it may be better to get dumped somewhere I can sit and have a drink while Ollivier is probed and prodded and then go shopping with them so that my stuff can go straight in the car.

Tonight I was (and still may) going to take Yvonne for dinner but just now she was informed she has a Communist Party class this evening. Depending on when it finishes - she doesn’t know yet - will see whether we eat together or not. If we do it will now probably be somewhere near campus if we go at all.

Oh yes! My piccalilli arrived! A damned good excuse to buy a baguette tomorrow and have a cheese and pickle dinner! Also, another teacher in China who I only know from the internet sent me a link to a western internet food site run by expats. It is definitely a place I will use, for they sell cornish pasties, steak and kidney pies - even fresh bagels! With the warm weather approaching I foresee smoked salmon and cream cheese being purchased along with the latter. They also do tortillas so certainly an oasis for me here.

Well no eating out for me tonight, the delights of Yvonne’s company will now need to wait until after the Labour holiday. Instead I am making a huge cauldron of carrot and lentil soup which I shall have for my sustenance along with some freshly baked bread made with my own machine. The perfect opportunity to try out my new blender which within the last hour was actually liberated from its box.

Friday 18th April, 2014                        1245

Another lengthy pause but this time because not a lot happened for the first half of the week.

On Wednesday some of my students were trying to call me in the morning but as I turn my phone off when I go to bed and Kevin doesn’t, he was the one to get woken up as they wanted to know where I was! When I did switch on, within seconds they called. As the class had all returned for a medical exam (required if they want to obtain a teaching licence) they had decided to hold their graduation lunch on Thursday and would I like to come? Damned right I did - this is one of my original classes and if I can help it I don’t want to miss any of them.

So yesterday late morning I took the bus and by chance some of the students from the class were on it to show me where the venue was. A stone’s throw from Lottemart but I would never have even guessed there was even a restaurant there, let alone have found it. We were a little early and as a consequence ended up playing cards while we waited for the others and the food to arrive. In total I think there were 26 students and five teachers. The food was plentiful, albeit most of it wasn’t to my taste. I tried a fish hotpot, one mouthful of which was enough to make my head explode it was so hot and thereafter confined myself to “safe” dishes such as steamed buns with an onion filling, prawns etc.

It was of course a bittersweet affair, more so than previous graduation parties because these were kids I started teaching with and I have grown hugely attached to over the past four years. It is great that soon they will be going to make their way in the world but oh so sad to think I will probably never see any of them again apart from hopefully when they return for a day in June to graduate proper and have their photo taken.

There was as usual the rapid fire of “gambays” even though most were drinking orange juice and the taking of photos. I know this will sound foolish but after lunch when the students were mingling I was on a number of occasions close to tears and certainly had a very large frog in my throat. One - the best in that class - came to tell me how she would never ever forget me and to thank me for being so great, she couldn’t imagine leaving me etc before dissolving into floods of the wet stuff. Before I embraced her I managed to tell her I felt the same before my voice seized up entirely. Another girl came to me with similar sentiments and reminded me of something I had once said a couple of years ago in their class, which she said she will always remember. Oddly I can’t remember it now but it was a piece of sage advice I had long since forgotten. It brought home just how much you can - if you try - influence young people. False modesty aside I think it is safe for me to say they will always remember me as much as I will always remember them. I did though, once the power of speech returned, make a point to thanking them for teaching me how to be the teacher I am today - and I meant it.

As I was free all day I stayed to the death, although I eschewed the eternally popular visit to a KTV karaoke bar, as did seven of the students. Three of those I treated to a cab ride back to school with me and later some of them came to my home for a visit. I got absolutely nothing done at all yesterday and I was exhausted by the time I flopped into bed. In fact I am still low on energy today and still have a full afternoon ahead of me. I had foolishly thought the party would be as brief as it so often is, normally a couple of hours, and had ideas of shopping afterwards but that idea had to be abandoned.

Not only that, when I started class this morning I suddenly realised not only had I not prepared next week’s homework for them (easily rectified as I gave them the Korean ferry sinking) but also had no activity prepared for them - not so easy.

During the class the students received a text from their form teacher advising that for the next week they shouldn’t leave their dormitories due to heavy rain forecast. I did ask if that meant they shouldn’t come to class (good-oh, a week off!) but was told no, only in their free time. So they are supposed to go out to study but not to have fun.

As a result of this snippet of news I checked the provincial news and read that they are expecting a week of “white rain” commencing tomorrow and warnings have been issued. All I can say is that I hope it holds off until lunchtime as I am downtown in the morning.

1940

After lunch there was a man and woman team drilling and fixing signs to the walls both outside and inside the classrooms. Apparently the one inside details the rules of the class whilst the outside one lists all the equipment that it inside. Presumably this is being done for the inspection but the outer sign seems to me to advertise the booty that can be had by a burglar - then again, this is China. Anyway, our new rooms have brand new doors which we are not given a key for so the supervisor has to come and unlock them before a class, we have been asked to close the doors when we leave, thus locking it so we can’t get back in. You can open it from the inside but not from outside.

The noise of the drilling was distracting my class so I closed the door, only to find that we were now trapped inside as the door is faulty. Eventually the supervisor came and freed us but had we had an emergency we would have been in trouble. Anyway, just after I started the second afternoon class the pair strolled in and started working, peeling brown paper off the sign and getting me annoyed as I was trying to listen to one of the groups deliver their homework so I got the students to ask them to leave and come back in the break. You have probably guessed it - the workman shut the door! I will check on Monday to see if they have rectified the problem, if not I will have to tell Cinny that it’s a hazard, not to mention an inconvenience having to have the door open at all times.

Enjoy the photos.