Thursday 10^th September, 2020 1600

I'm heading for that long-overdue iceberg here! But first things first.

Today I went to campus to test that student, who it turns out I have never actually met before. While I was waiting, Sue (Dean Delia's assistant) came out after class and one thing led to another and I mentioned I kept getting a red screen when I tried to get the health code for Xining. She tried various times and got the same result, the student Amber turned up and did likewise and after forty minutes I said leave it, I need to go to the PSB later this month to collect my passport so I will ask them to help. After all, if the Public Security Bureau can't then who can?

So it turns out Amber had been off for an entire year, not just one term. Curious, I asked her what the illness was. She had to get her phone to translate and I am hardly surprised. She was and still is, suffering from endocrine dyscrasia, something I was under the impression only afflicted old people but clearly not. She did at one point decide to throw in the towel on her education and find employment but having tasted the delights of working for minimal wages, has now decided perhaps getting a degree is the better option. Unfortunately in China, no degree means sweeping the streets, waitressing, stacking shelves or other lowly tasks. Good luck to her. I bumped her score up for trying to help me and also to take into account she has lost a year of practising English.

Afterwards I went to the train station again. This time I knew there were no fast train tickets available and despite what the idiot told me yesterday they were on sale. With visions of being offered a standing ticket (as if I could possibly stand for three and a half hours on a slow train) I was relieved to be able to get a hard sleeper ticket which the chap assures me is the bottom berth. If it isn't, I shall pile everyone's suitcase up and sit on those!

But when I got into a taxi home, I couldn't find the ticket I bought yesterday!

I cannot for the life of me find it anywhere and I know I put it in with my passport receipt so it must have worked its way out. They don't issue proper tickets any more (the Chinese don't even get a ticket, it's linked to their ID), you get a little till receipt thingy.

So now I need to go back to the station for a third time and see if I can get a replacement. What with the tickets and the health code it's almost enough to make me want to just take a haircut with the 1,000¥ I can't get back from the hotel now and just forget the whole thing.