Thursday 28th May, 2015                   1345

Just making a start before leaving to be a judge at a drama contest. I cancelled my class as it was inferred  that English month was more important. I wait with bated breath to see how many of the acts are in fact performed in English (or French for that matter).

I am still suffering from digestive problems although I have started being “a good boy” by eating the occasional plum or banana etc - quite how long it will last I know not. I hate forcing myself to eat something I don’t want, in the past my body has told me when to eat things by giving me a sudden craving. I think the current situation can be attributed to the arrival of tortillas on the scene and my embracing them for a week as my exclusive diet!

I got up early to go for a McBreakfast and get the makings of a salad for Joan and I tonight. I really can’t fathom McDonald’s in China. Now I realise working for them is hardly a career pinnacle and that regardless of country there will always be a sizeable staff attrition rate but it doesn’t seem to work that way here.

Every couple of months, rather than see the odd new face arrive and a familiar one depart, the whole shooting match is changed in one hit. Such was the case this morning. It wouldn’t be so bad if they actually trained the newcomers first but as far as I can see there is no evidence, even among the management. Having asked for a Big Breakfast I was prompted to remind them they should really start frying the hash browns (they take 3 minutes) and then there was a fiasco asking for salt, pepper and jam. It took five minutes to find the salt, another three to locate the pepper (which I helpfully pointed out just might be in the storeroom upstairs - and it was) and they had no jam at all. As a consequence my meal was stone cold before it was ready.

I didn’t lose my temper with them but I hope that on my next visit they will have learnt the requirements which should be close to hand in the future - I mean, it’s hardly me being pernickety.

My annoyance was increased in RT Mart at the checkout. I had bought pre-packed salad vegetables so as to avoid having to get my things weighed and checked. I wanted to get back home for a nap before the contest. In my “stupidity” I never realised the celery (which was indeed pre-packed) had no price sticker on it. Why the hell put it in a nice bag if you aren’t going to price it up? And just try to get an assistant to whiz off and have it weighed for you! No chance, and still carrying a limp there was no way I was doing it so all I can hope is that the four day old stuff in the fridge is still crisp.

Saturday 30th                          1615

Well I did start this entry, just never managed to return to it!

The drama contest was quite fun to judge (noisy onlookers excepted - who prompted Kevin to berate them to hush on two occasions) and we were treated to ten mini plays entitled, inter alia, Cinderella, the Monkey King and one about stinky feet which was rather amusing.

Yesterday was wet. It started just after I commenced morning class and thankfully was over at lunchtime. When I got home I found there was no light in the fridge and wondered why because the school hadn’t lost power. One of the breakers was out and wouldn’t reset. I systematically unplugged everything one at a time to no avail. I had no lights and worse no computer or internet. I sent a mayday to Cinny but being lunchtime she never looked at her phone. After sitting for a while the light bulb above my head suddenly turned on as I remembered the extension lead which leads outside for charging my bike.

Except I couldn’t unplug it because it was behind two cabinets and my attempts to shift them (one on top of the other) were in danger of seeing the top one crash to the deck, shattering the glass doors in the process. I enlisted Ollivier’s help and sure enough that was the culprit. Capillary action (for the sockets were under shelter and on an elevated section of concrete) had seen an ingress of water into the junction box. A few hours of being placed in a position to drain it sorted the problem.

Last night Elizabeth invited me for dinner and we went to Popofish. I have been to one in town and rather fancied a sizzling prawn platter but just my luck, they don’t do it in the Business Street so we settled for a fish and veg hotpot. I confess I didn’t eat much but did enjoy the quail’s eggs.

This morning I went for breakfast and a shop (salmon and new potatoes for Joan and me tomorrow) and earlier had a much needed nap, although annoyingly despite my tiredness I couldn’t sleep as long as hoped. Very shortly Kevin and I will be going for dinner as Mr Wu’s guests in town. He is a fellow teacher (no idea who from the name but no doubt when I see him I will) but he caused great concern to me earlier in the week.

Kevin had been invited some time before but not me and he had said Mr Wu was one of the university leaders. Didn’t ring any bells with me but I thought nothing of it. We both assumed it was a farewell dinner as a thank you for the past six years. When a couple of days later I was invited I almost soiled my underwear - nobody has thus far said a word to me and now I am being invited to my own farewell dinner! I subsequently found out he is a fellow teacher. Mind you I won’t be best pleased if he starts telling me how sorry he is to see me leaving……………watch this space.

Sunday 31st                                         0230

This won’t be posted until later today but at least when I do you will have plenty to read!

Kevin and I set off at five for the meal and fair play to him, he found the place. It wasn’t just Mr Wu, in fact I think with two children there were eventually ten of us, including Dr Wu from chemistry in Nanjing university.

The surprise was that either most of those present never knew Kevin was leaving or were feigning ignorance until told. And of course, this being China, any free dinner other than an official school one, far from being a farewell to a colleague job had to be paid for. On this occasion I suspect they were fishing form help on something the university has tasked them with - how to improve the Chinese education system.

That’s a laugh really. Neither Kevin nor I are qualified teachers. Granted he has probably a decade of teaching under his belt and now I have a lustrum but we have not been trained per se. perhaps they simply wanted the foreign perspective because schooling here is utterly different to that in the west - Confucius vs. Aristotle. Aside from stating that the country that could find the perfect blend of the two would be world beaters the best I could do was offer my own classroom experiences. I am not averse to faking it occasionally but it does make me chuckle when qualified professionals seek advice from me in a field in which the only qualification I hold is an online one. But then as I always say, the classroom can only teach you the basics of whatever it is you are going to do, experience is worth ten times as much. I should know, I have learnt much in the past five years and ninety percent of it from the students themselves, hence my public blog is entitled “Who’s Teaching Who?”

With some relief on realising I wasn’t to receive commiserations  on my departure (still no official  news either way though) I enjoyed the evening. Digestive issues still currently presenting problems I was obliged to eat both sparingly and selectively though. I am not one to worry overly regarding the inner workings of my enormous belly but I admit - without entering into detail - of late I have been given cause for concern and as a typical male am assuming things will rectify. I think they will, I’m just annoyed that I will have to probably eat more fruit - it’s not sweet here and the grapes have rhinoceros hide.

Tomorrow (actually today now) there is the (hopefully) last English corner of the term. As mentioned, they want a song rather than games. It looks like being the noses on the faces of the ladies of the harem etc one because I not only can’t sing but certainly can’t sing to music. If Kevin comes he will be highly relieved I don’t do Wild Rover because he can’t sing either but he can join in the chorus.

For now, it is 0300 and I would really like to sleep until eleven. Somehow I think I will wake up at sunrise at 0500 regardless. I can but hope.

1715

I did indeed wake up after a couple of hours but thankfully managed to doze off again until 1030. The class party went well and I think my song was well received.  Emotionally though it was a gut wrencher from the off. I arrived nice and early and sat on my bike enjoying a cigar before the start. I was asked to sign two books, which on enquiring further turned out to be keepsakes for Kevin and Ollivier due to their both leaving soon. These were my students, not theirs, and I was touched. I then made the mistake of reading the introductory page of each book and that was a grave error. Emotionally I used to be as hard as nails but these kids are something else. How on earth Kevin got up on stage at the end to speak and answer questions is beyond me - as far as I know I am not even leaving and when asked myself what my feelings were I barely managed to choke out my four word reply. When my time comes I know full well I will be unable even to do that. This school has been our life for 3,5 and 6 years and it’s not the same as working for a taxi firm or in a factory. The students are genuinely sorry to be seeing them leave.

Anyway, enough dwelling, I must post this or it will become even more epic and I have dishes to wash and new potatoes to scrub for later.