Chapter 279

I got up early and headed to the apartment complex entrance with my bicycle and the dog. Two eleventh-grade students invited me to go hang out with them, like it sometimes happens during holidays. I put my bicycle in the back of the pick-up truck and sat inside, then we got driven to a town about 25 km away. We rode our bikes a bit along the grey waters of the Yangtze River, the dog alternated between running around and being carted in the basket fastened to my luggage rack. One of the boys started feeling queasy and almost fainting, due to the heat and the mild exertion. He’s not made very strong, maybe he should eat more meat and vegetables and less instant noodles, but he’s quite smart, so Xi Jinping will find a use for him in the upcoming Great Patriotic War.

Then we went to the factory where his mother works, one that makes electric appliances of some sort. We sat in an office drinking red tea and then went to a banquet room for lunch, it was awesome, with hairy crabs, freshwater fish and other local specialties.

In the afternoon we went to a low-key tourist area, basically just a field with an observation tower and views of the surroundings. There was a slide attached to the tower, and I bought a ticket. The small children lining up, going down and climbing back up again were amused at the sight of the big hairy foreigner and his dog sliding, and some asked me silly questions in Chinese or primary school English. Then we went to another spot, some kind of outdoors coffee shop, with comfy seating spread around a garden, and ate mysterious barbecue. Overall it was a pretty fun day, nothing crazy but it’s nice to interact with my students outside the classroom sometimes. Once again, we put the bicycles in the factory’s pick-up truck, and I asked the driver if I can drive. He laughed and said yes.

I got home a bit before 5, exhausted, and took a nap. When I got up, the girlfriend was distressed, the cat’s health had been going from bad to worse, and though I fed him in the morning and when I cam back, he was now lying on the floor and barely moving. We’d been warned by the vet that there’s a chance he wouldn’t make it, and now it truly looked like he was on his last mile. Ah well, we tried. With a bit of a knot in my stomach, I took him outside, in a shoebox cover with the shit-stained old t-shirt he’d been sleeping on, and left him in a place under the bushes with a container of milk and cat food pellets. At least he’ll spend his final moments outside, in dignity.

Then I headed to the gym for BJJ practice. Only the Italian and I were there, we rewatched the video of my match at the Shanghai tournament and he paused it to explain what I should have done at that point. We drilled those moves a bit then rolled together, a good time was had by all.

I got home, showered, did laundry, and reheated a bunch of leftovers. We ate while watching The Office. I was in bed fairly early.

Out.