Sunday 20th March, 2016                 0050

Well the English Corner was one of the more boring variety. It was the class’s first attempt at putting on an event so I won’t be too critical but nobody asked me until on the night to do anything and then to put a bit of spice into it I was expected to come up with games and the like! Great, thanks guys! I did my best.

I was the only foreigner there. Richard clutters off to Changsha every weekend and I have now learnt Andrei and Juliette have Mandarin classes on Friday evenings. I have absolutely no problem with that of course.

However, during the party I was informed that there will be one EVERY Friday until all the classes have had one! There go my Friday nights for at least another month and of course they will all expect games from me and I am not a bottomless pit of ideas - AND I will be the only foreigner! Why are they having one every week instead of perhaps each fortnight? Because the school told them to. Jesus. The only one that is going to these things is probably getting the sack because he is an old fart. You have to laugh.

During the party (at least they provided pijou) I invited Judy (a new wife) to Tongling for pizza. It was a struggle due to her part time jobs but eventually we agreed I would meet her at noon today and I would have her back by five this evening.

I stayed up late into the night and surfaced at midday (later than I thought I would sleep) and went to take the bus. Being a weekend it was always going to be a terminus to terminus to terminus round trip and so I exited south gate. Right where the bus stop is, close to the gate and the business street there had been a collision between two e-bikes. Two bodies on the deck, one male, one female, the latter clearly in considerable pain. A group of students waiting for the bus standing around gawping and so I slowed, thinking perhaps I might be of some assistance.

Then I spotted one of our security chaps there on a walkie-talkie and decided I would probably be more of a hindrance than a help, given the language problem and rode on. They must have collided at a hell of a clip because the bodywork of the man’s bike was badly damaged with pieces of plastic everywhere. No idea whose fault it was but to be doing the speed they both must have been was foolhardy in that particular location. I saw the ambulance arrive as my bus passed south gate ten minutes later.

After I shopped I did something I said I wouldn’t and went into KFC for a very early dinner/late lunch. The idea was that I wanted to be hungry for the pizza at lunchtime today and if I ate early I wouldn’t need anything tonight and I would actually be able to eat. I just knew something was going to go wrong and I knew exactly what it would be. Judy sent me a message at 2200 tonight to say she couldn’t come because her father had got angry with her for agreeing to go alone with the foreign monster.  It seriously did not come as a surprise, it has happened so many times in the past but what annoys me is why they accept the invites in the first place if they have to get permission (as adults!) from mum and dad?

Luckily Dumpling has now agreed to come (she has changed her name now to Daisy but to me she will always be Dumpling) and we can go a bit later which is better for me. I will pick her up at three and I am confident I will have her back by seven. I bumped into her when I left the office this evening, first time I have seen her this term.

She said her class all miss me and I said to her that they have Richard now. To my astonishment she told me they don’t have a foreign teacher now! I have no idea what the school is playing at but I have one class twice a week plus three others once, which is the equivalent of five classes. My contract is for a maximum of eight classes - why the hell couldn’t they give me the classes they haven’t given to Richard? I often wonder if anyone here has any idea about administration rather than simply spying online for pictures posted of foreign teachers they think are up to no good.

Oh and the campus passes for vehicles? Joan informed me when I got her to read the website that yes I will need one before April Fool’s Day. As if not only I stole my bike (you have to provide documentation to prove you own whatever it is) but also they need to prove my identity. How many old, fat foreigners do they have that anyone here doesn’t know who I am????