Friday 30th June, 2017                             2200

An interesting and ultimately infuriating day.

Last lot of exams to do but because I did the bulk last week this week has been a lighter workload. I may have more students in each class here but it doesn’t, indeed can’t, take long to do each one. Unlike English majors, many of whom you have to stop in mid-flow after they have been telling you their life story for ten minutes, here it is often like pulling hens’ teeth to actually get them to speak.

I did though end up with Jenny and Alison as my two joint top students in the end and they are really two that even if they can’t come to my classes (they are on work experience for a good deal of next term) then I would like to meet socially instead just so they can keep their level up.

The second class started knocking on my door at 0930. Ok, I had finished the remnants of the early class by then but by rights the second class should not even have finished their own until 0940 and had 30 minutes break until my class started. We have something to do later, is it possible to take the test early?

Well, no skin off my nose, I was there and one on one I simply sit in the chair. Be my guest, just meant a longer lunch hour. How stupid that thought now seems!

My morning was done and dusted by 1010. Four hours and twenty minutes lunch hour yawned ahead of me. I toyed with the notion of walking to McDonald’s for a Big Mac for my lunch after reading the news online. But then Janet arrived. As she put it, her last chance to see me before end of term. Not strictly true, although I should have no need to be on campus again until next academic year, she can always invite me for lunch if I am not away on my upcoming jollies.

Anyway she stayed for a fair length of time discussing this and that. One thing that was brought up was the fact I  had failed a few of the boys. In fact I broached the subject first and she said she knew because one of the boys had told her. I opined that perhaps in future the school should not send me students with zero English  or those preparing for the Masters entrance exams on the basis they won’t come and I will have no choice but to fail them.

Refreshingly (for  China) she said no, I think it is best you are honest in your marks. No no no! Hang on a minute! These students are not going to Cyprus, my exams are nothing to do with their major so I have been flexible. The crossbar is lower for them and yes, some should have failed but to save grief I have passed them but with the minimum score of 60%. If they have been given that then you know really they should have failed but some token scalps have been taken because I never saw them in class. When I have the Cyprus Contingent next term I will again be brutally honest, even more so now I have met the Rector and he is fully aware of who is trying to drag our students up from the first step. I got it spot on last year and will do so again with the next lot.

Then she turned to the favour she mentioned a while ago but never got around to actually explaining what she wanted. She wants to go abroad as a visiting scholar. Well I am not familiar with university protocols even here, I just do my best and get angry when any criticism is directed at me when it is not constructive.

My protest that I never attended university before teaching at one was unheeded. Because I am western, I must be familiar with everything. So now I need to find a suitable university that will invite a Chinese PhD to come and observe how the UK handle pre-school education. I don’t even know if such courses exist in the UK! I will try though. It may well be the key to working two consecutive days a week next term seeing as Janet does my rota (ok it will kill me to do two whole days plus commute) and have five consecutive days off instead of working Monday and Friday. That way if I wanted to travel to say Chizhou, I could.

Eventually, and I confess to great relief, she had to leave as her niece was visiting and she had to cook her lunch. So, off for that Big Mac. Except despite buying those new trainers (they’re not really trainers) my legs don’t want to walk far these days and my feet even less so. Yes I am sedentary but even sedentary people take gentle strolls. I rarely can. God help me on the forthcoming school trip.

Anyway, quite apart from the distance to McD’s, when I got outside it had to be 30C. Having just endured a really cold winter my Chizhou heat tolerance has been depleted. Sod that for a game of soldiers. I went to the school canteen. I should have stayed in my office hungry. In two visits I have experienced both what the students described as so-so and terrible food. Today was terrible. Back to the office to play computer solitaire until the first of the remaining sophomores came for their exams.

Except at 1430 the little bleeders never appeared. It has to be said that at the back of my mind I thought this might happen because last Friday more students than I had asked for turned up and I did them anyway. But if they had told me the rest weren’t going to come I could have been home at lunchtime instead of sitting in my office for hours. Via public transport I was home by 1600 though.

And on the bright side, I am now finished until 1st September. All the marks were emailed to Janet earlier and I have fulfilled this year’s contract. All I need to do now is go to the computer place and get a “special” electronic photo taken (again but this time complying with the new regulations regarding pixels, size etc) and then arrange to sign a new contract.

The summer holiday begins…….