Friday 15^th December, 2017 1945

I have had a bellyfull of exams already. A typical one with the non-English students goes thus:

Describe your family to me.

They are five people. My grandmother, father, mother, my brother and me.

And what job does your father do?

Farmer.

Ok, what does he farm?

Sorry?

What does he grow on the farm?

Sorry?

Ok, what does he produce?

Sorry?

A farmer produces food – what is it?

Sorry?

Sigh..... vegetables? Fruit? Eggs? Pork?

I don't know how to say it.

Bear in mind this is a poor, sparsely populated province and that a good many of my students are from farming stock (sprinkled with the odd Tibetan horse-riding yurt dweller) the above conversation took place around twenty times today!

I am being kind and tailoring as best I can the questions to their ability to maximise their scores but some are exasperating. Two of the boys I mentioned before who come to every class yet speak no English came for their tests as well. I asked them one question, “Can you speak any English?”

Mayo. One even informed me he was Tibetan, as if that should grant him a pass mark.

What it means is that they don't have compulsory English lessons in Tibet so to be fair it is a valid reason for the lack of ability in the subject but I have entered a question mark rather than a score. I am worried that if I am benevolent they will be returned to me next term when to be honest the best thing would be for them to be told to play basketball instead. I shall discuss their situation with Janet. It's not fair on them or me for them to be forced to attend a class in what is to them double Dutch.

And of course I am still getting either entire classes turning up expecting me to test them all in an hour and a half, fourteen instead of the sixteen requested or as per the second morning class, too many and begging me to do them today. I lost half an hour of my lunch break today making sure those who had waited were done. Ordinarily I would be happy to work extra now to make my last week easier but if Janet comes good on what she says, even if I finish early on the 29^th I will still have to stay late for the English corner. Normally I work the exams to my advantage and have a leisurely last day but it is all going wrong this time! Ah well, I can console myself with around six weeks of holiday once it is over.

I still don't know if Joan is visiting next month or what is happening with the forced purchase of her family home. Adriana wants me to go with her to Chengdu and I am unsure. Chengdu featured in the first episode of The Real Marigold Hotel recently and to be honest never looked anywhere different to other cities. Miriam Margoyles (Professor Sprout in Harry Potter to our Chinese readers) in the fake ocean attraction did however prove amusing.

Oh well, the weekend is here. I shall recharge myself ready for more pulling of hens' teeth on Monday when the offspring of farmers present for examination.