Sunday 8th June, 2014          1315

It is now confirmed that three of the four foreigners have another year. Park was only ever staying one year as a South Korean school has an arrangement with the university apparently and I assume she was only on loan. We weren’t officially advised though, however on Thursday I was asked if I was free to go and sign contracts Friday afternoon. No I wasn’t, because I teach all Friday afternoon, also Kevin, so it was rescheduled to tomorrow.

Then the FAO realised we hadn’t been for a medical. Obviously we have to pass that in order to remain. Could we do it Monday? Kevin could, I can’t due to classes and Ollivier will be travelling back from collecting his wife and eldest child (they have now played “pass the offspring” and are swapping with the grandparents). We are all going together on Thursday morning now. However tomorrow we all need to submit our passports and foreign expert certificates to be sent for residence permit and FEC renewals. At least it hasn’t been left to eight hours before we became illegal immigrants like last year. Now I really MUST dig out my wrist monitor and make sure I am controlling my blood pressure well!

On Thursday I took Yvonne to a barbecue restaurant, having been informed by her that she can’t stay here for the summer vacation as she has taken a part time job working for a relative in her hometown of Anqing. That rather put a spoke in my plans for any travelling. Whilst it is a simple case of taking Pepsi to the vet when I go away, there is no way I can transport three fat cats on the bike - nor do I have a cage big enough to hold them all. In fact they have all outgrown the cage I do have so even one would be cramped. She will however come and stay for a long weekend after her exams are finished.

Yesterday afternoon though I hopefully solved the problem. Flora (another of my students who has featured elsewhere in this blog when I took her to the now-defunct Japanese restaurant) seemed delighted when I told her if she wanted, once Yvonne had gone home she could move in and stay all holiday. My plan is to go away for a week in late July.

Yesterday the kid’s school owner asked me by text if I had any plans. I responded by saying “plenty” which I do. There is the real estate company nearby I have agreed to visit four times, Helen will probably want me twice for a weekend morning (plus free lunch for me afterwards) and hopefully the mountain charity school will call on me twice as they have done in previous years - the latter I will invite Flora to, as indeed I may ask her to the estate agents. It depends on what hours she will work downtown herself. I also told him I didn’t want to do summer school this year and waited for a response.

Surprisingly I did not receive a phone call telling me how much he needed me, which was a great relief - maybe he now realises what I have been trying to tell him is true, he doesn‘t need me except for organised outings as a token laowei. It also now leads me to tell him later that I don’t want to teach there any more.  Instead he has invited me to come to a summer camp for four days and play games with the kids. They are going to a scenic spot near Hubei province to the west of here and I will find out more later. I have however informed him that I am not sleeping in a tent! I will find a nearby hotel with air-conditioning and internet instead.  

Once the rain disappeared it has been consistently in the low thirties which is lovely although it does present me with a bit of a quandary. During the next fortnight I will be doing the exams. Four of my six classes were moved to the new rooms which have aircon but I won’t do the one to one tests with the rest of the class present. The question is: do I make the students wait outside while I do the tests in the cool or do I take two chairs outside and do them alfresco while the students keep cool?

1400

I have now found out more about the summer camp. It is being done in conjunction with a company which provides transport, accommodation (not tents, presumably a hostel for the kids and a hotel/motel for the adults) and this is where it is:

http://english.anhuinews.com/system/2014/04/24/006406071.shtml

It looks lovely. It also looks as if I am still going to have a very busy “holiday” despite my wanting a quiet one.