Half an hour to kill before going to Amazing Brewery for dinner with Kevin, Vivi and Hannah. Hopefully a couple of games of pool afterwards upstairs.
So on Wednesday after my class I rushed to town to get to the notary before they closed for the dragon boat holiday and collected 7 photocopied sheets in a slightly thicker cover. Four of the copies were of my document, three the translation. It really doesn’t look like 540y worth. Anyway, the agency have an emailed copy now so whenever the new school reopens they will send them there. Fingers crossed it works, I do want to teach at the new one, not least of all because they have (without being asked by me) increased the monthly salary meaning it will be an instant 18% pay rise on what I get here.
Mind you, Changzhou being a bigger city, has a fair few western restaurants so doubtless the extra will be spent in those!
Yesterday was dragon boat day, today is one of those where they let you have it off so the students can have three consecutive days in which to go home. Of course, classes resume on Sunday to make up for today. I however really don’t care because this term I don’t have classes on Fridays.
I scrabbled around for a “date” for tonight. Joan has gone to see her friend in Wuhu and Dumpling has gone home to Anqing. I sent Lilian a text but she took forever to answer and so I invited Hannah. Two hours later Lilian replied! It made me feel a trifle guilty so I will take her out tomorrow. Sunday I will attempt a prawn and mushroom curry to share with Dumpling when she gets back. I’m sure I have a packet of chapattis in my freezer somewhere although using the rice cooker to steam some rice will pose a challenge - I have always used a lidded saucepan.
The good thing is that with so many students having gone home there are no queues for the bus to town. I went yesterday and but for the fact I needed something for my dinner last night I may as well not have bothered, they had run out of my wine. Maybe tomorrow after dinner, the restaurant is near to the supermarket.
I have now started slowly but surely dumping stuff I won’t be taking with me. I can be guilty of being a terrible hoarder, I have things in cupboards I haven’t used in the six years I have been here so the likelihood of using them in the future is minimal. Although of course Sod’s law says the moment I throw something away I will wish I still had it.
Sunday 12th 1345
It’s getting to be enough to drive a person insane.
Friday’s dinner was terrible. My prawn pizza was awash with sweet corn, two identical noodle dishes arrived twenty minutes apart. Worse, they only had one type of beer! It was a black beer (allegedly Tsingtao) which tasted more of caramel than beer. Not one of my better suggestions.
Last night with Lilian was fairly safe as we went for a steak dinner although even there was below par as it looked like all the staff have changed since I was there last.
And then today came news I did not want. That notarisation I spent 540y on? No good. It has to be done via some special government educational bureau or a British embassy! My protests that I shouldn’t even have to be doing this after 6 years here fell on stony ground so I might as well have gone to Hefei in the first instance. What worries me now is that they won’t agree my papers are sufficient, if that happens I may be up a creek.
Also with the clock winding down (only 7 weeks until my residence expires) it is increasingly becoming inevitable that I will have to apply for a month’s extension.
This all now becoming hugely frustrating and worrying.
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