A few things

First the news: I signed my new contract for the fall. I will officially be professor of academic writing for graduate students (MSc and PhD). I'm quite happy with the teaching hours, contract, and the fact that the Chinese staff in the office speak great English. They also have a school bus that stops right outside my new apartment so I don't have to spend an hour every morning getting to work on the public bus.

The government is being a bit of a pain in the ass about marriage. Jia isn't from Shenzhen, which makes things a little more complicated. Apparently, my marriagability affidavit from the U.S. Consulate isn't enough for the Chinese government. They need this pointless piece of paper notarized--which should cost about 500 yuan. Of course, the notary is being a lazy (censored by multiple governments). I need to provide a whole load of proof that I live in Shenzhen and that I will continue to live in Shenzhen. How does this make him an "international" notary? What about business people who need documents but aren't residents?

Then there's that lovely (note sarcasm) school that Jia is leaving. They are now telling her that she can't quit until July 8 or she has to forfeit THREE months salary. Unfortunately, they never gave her a copy of the contract for her to keep. That means that the contract means nothing and will not hold up in court. Nice to see that they do things legally around here. She'll try to be polite about the situation and explain her intentions to the headmaster. I'm not optimistic on this one. I'm ready to call a lawyer because I know they are wrong.

And there is no photo for this week because I don't feel like searching through the thousands of files to pick a nice one. Don't cry, it'll be ok.