Sunday 19th June, 2016                 0140

Yep - late.

I have been occupied recently, started my exams and been wrestling with the job of actually being able to take up the position I have been offered at what by all accounts is in Tier 1 of Chinese universities.

The problem is the new rule that degrees must be certified. I think I have referred to this before because I wasted money doing it here. I was then told to go to Shanghai to the British embassy and I duly applied online for an appointment. No reply yet but then what else would you expect from a UK govt organisation??

Since then I have been told that no, the British embassy is not good enough. The notarising has to be done either in a Chinese embassy in your own country or an office in China. It seems rather odd to me that the British embassy is not good enough to verify British credentials and is ruled out in favour of a Chinese office which of course must be above any whiff of corruption. So be it.

I will take Alice on Tuesday and we will get my documents notarised which will take a month rather than a while-you-wait service at the British embassy. I am an optimist but it is becoming increasingly hard not to envisage a stage where I suddenly find myself up shit creek and having to bail out somewhere. The optimist had better win out.

At least this is good

[16/06/2016 20:21:54] Jenna zheng: She is still waiting for you.
[16/06/2016 20:22:06] Jenna zheng: For your good news!
[16/06/2016 20:22:15] Jenna zheng: They like you

From the recruitment agent. I hope they do wait for me because I will not go the illegal route and work on a tourist visa.

Thursday saw the start of the “last time” season. I bought my last supply of cigars from my little booth. I have no idea what they said to me when I gave them the little note I got Joan to write to them to thank them for their service over the years but I strongly suspect they were thanking me for the 660y a month contribution to their coffers.

Saturday saw another. On Friday night I cooked Dumpling and Alice a lasagne. I screwed up a bit by making it a bit too moist but actually it was bloody nice. In fact I made enough for six and although I had my usual childrens portion all that was left to freeze was enough for a small snack one day! Dumpling was…….guilty….

And so on Saturday morning Dumpling and I rode to Helen’s school for the last time. The pronunciation test as always in good weather took place in the playground near her home. Again as always it attracted an audience of parents and old farts with bugger all else to do but it was tinged with sadness as I will never do it again.  We did though have a great lunch and some games of do di ju and Helen has threatened to come here with her daughter to taste roast potatoes before I leave (potatoes should be banned from the Chinese, they haven‘t a clue what to do with them). We shall see if she does.

I managed an hour in bed before Richard’s leaving dinner. How the hell he has finished already is beyond me, I still have until Thursday to finish and Juliette is now really pissed off that she won’t wind up until the 29th (I have always geared up to finishing just before the main exams start, in this case the 27th) and why should I care? Whatever happens I will remain here until the end of July - although the visa extension is now almost a dead cert necessity - so what else am I going to do?

Well having lunched, and I don’t eat much, I had warned Richard that I may just turn up with Joan and I may just drink and not eat. What had he made? Chicken a la king. Nothing special you may think but only a month ago I was looking up recipes for it because we used to get fed it at HMS Conway probably once a month! His was different of course but I had to try and in fact everyone liked it. He is off in the morning but when I said goodbye tonight my words were that it has been prickly at times but I reckon had we had another year things would be different. I had prickly with Kevin when I first came but it was different. We could go at it hammer and tongs and then it was over. Different generations I suppose.

While I was testing the kids an ex student of mine (who tonight Andrei told me works at the same school as him) called to say she had just heard I was leaving Chizhou. Not true, I saw her a couple of months ago outside RT Mart and told her but only now does she apparently believe it. She wants to have lunch. I am going to try to do that in about ten hours but the forecast is for bucketloads of rain. I need to shop so drenching or nay I am off to town, may as well have lunch as well.

To describe my feelings right now, I have the whole gamut of emotions. From fear that no bastard will recognise my qualifications all the way through the spectrum to sorrow that my time here is at an end in maybe six weeks.

When I picked up my skirts and flew out to China in 2010 of course I was sad but the difference was, I made the choice, I wanted to get the hell out. This time is different because given the choice I would stay here. I cannot be alone in railing against other people making decisions that affect ones life so dramatically.