Friday 22nd September, 2017                      0115

Some stability would be good!

I arranged to meet Delia (she had never heard of THE Delia) to be shown where my teaching building was. I only knew where the library was and half the campus has been demolished since I last went, new science blocks will be erected in due course.

I knew I should just have gone to the supermarket!

First off I was told I would teach at Peili all day Wednesday. Whoa! Hold on! I have afternoon classes on the east campus! Phone call. No, you are here all day Wednesday, east campus will move your class to another day. Fingers crossed they would fill that gaping void on Monday but no, it was changed to Friday afternoon so I now have all day Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I am however thankful I still have Tuesdays and Thursdays off - I will need them.

While we were talking outside I was asked if I would go to English Corners. Immediately I recoiled and stated I hated them. Anyway, my main campus was elsewhere. By sheer coincidence, fifteen minutes later two students just happened to appear, Edie and Avery. Oddly enough, they organise English corner and they just so happened to have one that night, could I come?

God I hate those things! Faced with three females “really hoping” I could make it I told them in no uncertain terms. I am a man.

So at 1900 hours I went to English Corner.

I assume because I am a new face and a novelty - old and fat and very English as opposed to French or American - I was a magnet and was surrounded by students, some I will teach, others not. Two hours later, long after the other teachers had left, I got to go home. Not before I was roped into a speaking contest this afternoon as one of the question masters. An IT student and her boyfriend (she swears he’s not) came to my home for a while - she wants to sit in on my classes.

I told you I should have just gone shopping!

Having said that, if their Corners are always like that then I may enjoy them - the students actually spoke instead of just me. Whether I go to more I am unsure but purely because they are on Thursday nights and my rota stipulates an 0500 alarm on Fridays. I will not want to get home at 2100.

It was interesting though. It appears Jacob’s mother is ill, hence the dash home. Equally interesting was that many students found his classes boring and also that apparently he became angry when students made mistakes.

Naturally I voiced no opinion as to his teaching, after all he is young and has only been doing it a year and I never met a teacher yet, including me, who appealed to every student. However, the boring bit I understand - my classes are never such but I can understand a young greenhorn sticking to the menu. That IS boring. Grief for giving a wrong answer is a different matter. My view is that when students make mistakes either the teacher hasn’t done their job properly or the pupil doesn’t want to learn. If they steadfastly refuse to take part in class then I stop asking them questions, the active ones can make any amount of errors and I will simply correct them without loss of face.

I have a feeling my three classes will have at least some animated students if tonight was anything to judge by and yes, now the antipathy towards having my life altered yet again has subsided, I am actually looking forward to teaching English majors again, albeit the flitting between campuses will present me with certain problems.  

Joan emailed me. She and her sister want to go to the ice city sculptures in Harbin in January, would I like to come? Two years ago I lost a lot of money by having to unnecessarily cancel flights and hotels because Joan worked for Dean Witch and never had the courage to say “I am going”. She wants to make it up to me. I still have two sets of ice overshoes!



I have had to decline.

From here flying is 5.5 hours and the train 46 hours. Yes, nearly two full days! It is also expensive. It is cheap for her and her sister to fly from Hefei to Harbin so I have suggested they go and do it, return home and then Joan comes here later. Harbin Ice City was indeed something I was mulling over for 2019 but my mind now is on taking Joan for a holiday she will never forget in summer. I have someone to repay and a stash to save to make that a reality. Harbin would cost too much (even though it is something I really want to do).      

Joan of course has no conception of how much what I have planned if we can pull it off costs. I couldn’t even countenance it without my naval pension. And if Joan can’t get a visa for England (been there before) if she is free then I will take her somewhere else that is not as draconian regarding tourists and where she can get a visa on arrival or online beforehand.