Monday 21st March, 2016                   1950

I met with Dumpling after class, bought her dinner for 10y and then took her back home to show her the ropes regarding cleaning. Once done, I gave her a lift as close as I could to her classroom for her homework period which started at seven.

On my return as I parked the bike, Mum appeared to come and say hello. The problem was, she was accompanied by her boyfriend and a jealous one at that. The moment I went to stroke Mum he growled, barked and made as if to bite me. He is roughly the same size as Mum and has been no problem in the past so I can only assume she is in season and he is zealously keeping her as his own. When he continued to threaten in attack mode I did what I always do with such dogs, I made myself into a bigger dog, showed my brown teeth and made more noise than he was making. It gave him pause for thought but what interested me most was the way Mum decided I think to protect me by leaving, taking him with her.

As sure as eggs are eggs there will be a new batch of pups in the near future once he has impregnated her sufficiently, after which time he will no longer be interested. And I will lay odds that she will whelp this time under the ground floor stairs in our building.

I was pleased to find an email from the recruitment agency with a job vacancy which pays 1,000y a month more than I get now. That is, until I looked up where it was, Xingtai, Hebei province. Not far south of Beijing, for sure the winters will be colder and longer but for more money I could handle the cold. However a search on the internet revealed that two years ago it was listed as China’s most polluted city. No wonder they are looking for another teacher. I am not that bothered about pollution, after all I fill my lungs with smoke most of the time anyway but the extra money still tempts. I would of course prefer somewhere further south with cleaner air! Now if they say I can stay there six years until I hit retirement age, well that would be serious inducement.

Tuesday 22nd    0415

This is getting ridiculous. Fine I have a free day today but once again this will doubtless mean I won’t be able to sleep until late tonight/tomorrow morning and accordingly I will feel like death when I have to get up at 0830.

No contact from Anthony yesterday regarding assistance for my e-bike campus pass, no surprise there unless he went and got one on my behalf.

I have been mulling Xingtai for hours now. I had my heart set on further south but the allure of more money and the fact that my age does not seem to be a barrier, coupled with the fact the agency have not listed the vacancy on their website yet are playing on my mind. It seems an altogether awful place to get to, by train from here it would take a day and flying? Well the best option I can find takes 35 hours by flying to the far south of China in Guangzhou, staying overnight and then flying to the far north! Not only that, it would cost a fortnight’s wages. I am torn  asunder by the extra money and the possibility of actually working to UK retirement age and the pollution. Funny that the tourism photos show clear skies though. I must also add in the probability that Joan, Kevin, Anna et al would never come to visit either. Mind you, none of my friends or family in the UK have ever come to pay me a visit.

I really wish these agencies, who ask you to complete a lengthy questionnaire as to your preferences, would actually READ the responses before offering job interviews! The only one they seem to have grasped is that I want an increase in pay. Or of course stay here.