October 18, 2006

• China Blog: Day 56
  

  09:49 Beijing Time
  

  
  

  Phrase Of The Day: Wo bu xihuan hong jiaodai!!! (I hate red tape!!!!!!!)

  Well, it’s been over a week since the last blog, and there are several
  reasons forthis. Firstly, I was ill most of last week and just didn’t
  have the strength or willpower to blog. Secondly, most of THIS week
  I’ve not been in the flat for various reasons, including a visit to
  Fiona’s apartment, classes, and socialising. Thirdly, when I HAVE been
  home, I’ve just been downright lazy.

  Much has been happening in the PRC of late. My Chinese is slowly
  getting better (VERY slowly)and life in our apartment block is
  generally good. We’ve nearly all been ill in one way, shape or form
  over the past week. My battle with the Roaches is starting to look more
  like Che Guevara’s guerrilla war in Bolivia than the out-and-out
  conflict it was originally. Both sides have begun a war of attrition,
  and every now and again I will see a solitary roach scurrying across
  the floor, and give it a dose of Raid…

  MMMMMmmmmm. I love the spell of bug spray in the morning. It smells like….victory.

  However, even though the roach threat has lessened, a new invasion has
  occurred. We arrived in my classroom on Monday to find one wall thick
  with ladybirds. HUNDREDS of the buggers! I kid you not. Every time I
  tried to teach they would buzz around and just generally tick me off.
  It’s a whole new war now, people.

  The other thing that is finally getting on my wick is the relentless
  bureaucracy that living in this place entails. Take this morning’s
  little adventure: I planned to watch a DVD with my class as part of
  their “non-textbook”, fun conversational English lesson. Except that
  when we got there, we were told that the DVD was only for use by the
  English Language department.

  Cue a *BlinkBlink* moment. So I tried the obvious tack:

  Me: “Uh…I AM a member of the English Language Department.”

  Officious, Pompous Guardian Of The DVD Rooms: “Prove it.”

  Me: “I’m ENGLISH!”

  So I fished out my teacher’s ID, which he seemed satisfied with, but
  then told me I couldn’t have the room as the students were business
  majors.

  End result: After an HOUR of negotiating and trying unsuccessfully to
  find a DVD room, I had to release the class. And I was more than a
  little miffed, so I gave my assisstant a call. She basically told me
  that ONLY English Majors are allowed to use the DVD rooms in that
  building, even if they’re with me. So the room sat empty, I got angry,
  and my students had extra free time. *RAGE!*

  Seriously, everything here requires you to go through a complicated,
  fifteen-step procedure before you can get anything done. There is
  nothing that can be done simply here in China. I know I used to slag
  off Sunderland Uni’s administrative abilities, but Chinese bureaucracy
  makes Sunderland look like a true paragon of organisation and
  efficiency. Fiona really hit the nail on the head when she wrote this post. It describes Chinese life perfectly.

  I really have very little more to say- it’s been a pretty uneventful
  week, to be honest. I’ve done very little of interest, although I have
  to admit that, a few days ago, Fiona beat me at Billiards. *shame* It
  was the first time either of us had ever played, and I was beaten 2-1.
  Shocking, I know, but I’m playing her at pool in the near future so the
  balance SHALL be redressed. Oh yes, it will.

  One other point of interest- I word-counted the Xi’an entry and it came
  to 2,899 words. That’s longer than pretty much every essay I had to
  write for Uni *snicker*. Journalism: The Course Of Choice For Lazy
  Writers.

  Aside from that, I’m purdy much done here, insomuch that I can think of
  for now. So I’m going to wrap up with a hearty Zai Jian, and go kick
  back and relax for a few hours before my next class.

  Zai Jian, guys!

  • 10:17 pm
  • 8 Comments