Sunday 9^th September, 2018 1040

Yesterday was the 45^th anniversary of my joining the MV “Cape Horn”, my first ship as crew rather than passenger. I still remember it well.

So, first week of term is over and I have met my new students. As per usual here, the classes are far too large, each one boasting between 43 and 49 students. Also as per usual, they were keen for the first lesson, almost certainly due to the novelty value of having a foreign teacher. Despite their initial enthusiasm, the signs were there that once again I shall struggle to get any of them to talk once we get the course proper under weigh.

I am however hoping that in a few weeks (after mid-autumn festival) that the parts of me below the waist will be functioning more robustly than at present, in which case I intend to engage them in activities, the problem being inventing ones they cannot use their phones to surreptitiously cheat at!

My timetable was exactly as feared, all day Friday and and all day Thursday but with the 4½ hour lunchbreak on the latter. Actually, I'm not complaining, the weekly breakfast at Pizza Hut is a bit of a treat, after all. I confess that the walk there and back damned near crippled me but it proved the problem now is atrophy from three months of disuse of muscles, for whilst I still limp, it improves daily.

Thursday being my first day back at work (albeit not the school's) I gave Janet and the Dean their souvenirs (nothing wrong with a bit of bribery to try and remain in a job!) and Janet reminded me that tomorrow is teachers day. She hoped I would attend the teachers' activity in the afternoon. The fact it is one of my days off never entered into it, that I had already arranged a western meal for tomorrow evening did. I said I was cooking and left it at that but then felt oddly guilty.

Some time later Janet texted to say the Dean really wanted me to go. I said I'd reconsider and let her know. I was then told all teachers would receive a gift/prize. To this I responded that it was of no consequence, if I went it would not be for a gift but because the school always includes me in everything and I like to consider myself part of the team, always a foreigner but hopefully not an outsider. The dinner is now postponed until Tuesday.

I went last year but couldn't attend until my classes finished, thank heavens, for when I got there we all had to play bongo drums to make a rhythm! Possibly that could be something I might enjoy after a gallon ofpijou but not at the end of a day's teaching! For that I was given an umbrella which I have needed twice in the year since. Maybe this year it will be a pack-a-mac!

I will finish on a grumble though. Yesterday was payday. Well, insofar as the 8^th is the normal day we are paid (since I have been here it has been early once and late once) though the contract merely says we will be paid on time each month without a specific date being mentioned, so any time within the month, I was rather hoping to be paid on Friday instead of having to wait until tomorrow. We weren't.

Normally it wouldn't be a problem but foreign teachers are not paid for August (you can bet your shirt the Chinese ones are!) and we have just come back from holidays and are skint. Of all the months to pay before the weekend rather than after, this was it.