Xixi wants to stay and first match of the season

I really hoped it would say 7am on my phone, but it read 4.23am instead. I couldn't get back to sleep after that, so just did some surfing on the internet till 8am when I went and got some breakfast. I woke up Xixi and we played about for a while before she was taken off by Waipo to play. Then Leilei and I went out to do some more house shopping. We went to the marketplace and bought some bits and pieces at a hardware shop before depositing them in the house. I noticed that the curtains had been put in in our bedroom and they're not bad at all, and don't let in much light, which is rare for here. I then took the son down to Jiuma's place where we found Xixi playing with all her friends. Apparently Jiuma had asked Xixi if she liked China and she said "dui!", and whether she wanted to go back to England and she said "bu yao!". Oh dear...

As Lin Hong was there I asked her where was a good place to buy a fridge and within a minute I was whisked off in her car to an aunty's shop near the guang chang, leaving the kids there. It dawned on me when we were there that we didn't really have a good place for a fridge. The kitchen is pretty tiny, and there's not even enough working space to put one on the side, so it looks like it will have to be in the main living area. I decided I'd need to do some measuring so we didn't get a fridge, but we did get a cheap water dispenser for 180 kuai and a set of knives in a wooden block. I really wanted to get a water filter, rather than the style that you have to keep ringing someone up to get a new bottle delivered every couple of days. I pointed to such a filter and explained that I wanted this style so that we could fill it up with tap water when we needed. Lin Hong nodded, but when we got to the house of course it was one where you just plonk an upside down large water bottle on top. Oh well, no big deal, and I suppose if we'd started to use a filter in our last week here it would probably need to be changed come next year. And at least we already had such a water bottle in the house so now we have drinking water. As the water dispenser needs to be plugged in if you want hot water, we've had to put it next to the xie gui where there is an electric point. Judging by the size of the kitchen, I'm thinking that this will probably be the best place for a small fridge too.

We got back to Jiuma's place at 1ish, where there were about eight adults all cutting up pig fat into small cubes for something or other - maybe that is the business they do here. I had some noodles thrust upon me as others were eating and thought why not? So I had my lunch there before heading back for a much needed siesta. I slept most of the time from 3.30-6pm and then still couldn't wake up, so grabbed another hour as the kids went out to the swimming pool.

Of course today was the first day of the footy season, and the first game was Spurs-City. Apparently the game was on Guangdong TV, but I couldn't find it, and as Waipo was in the house and wanted to watch tv too, I settled for finding a decent stream. Wow, what a hero Joe Hart was for the first half! We fully deserved to be 3 down, but we somehow salvaged a 0-0 draw. People are going to expect a lot more than that this season, but it least it looks like England's future goalkeeper may have been decided.

Lu Hai called me to go for some seafood at 10pm, but I wasn't really in the mood. However, I went as we don't have much longer here and I don't want to waste time. I spent no more than an hour before deciding it was bedtime for Leilei, something that even he didn't struggle with after a long day with no sleep.