Continuing from the previous diary entry, a few days ago, I received a training assignment for an adult education program (upgrading from college to university)…
21:17 Arrived Guiyang
After arriving in Guiyang, I didn’t want the teacher who was supposed to meet me to stay up too late, so I quickly hailed a ride to the training location—behind the West Campus of Guizhou University.
22:01 Reach the training institution positioning point
But when I got out of the car, they told me it wasn’t the right spot and that I still had to walk a bit further. At this point, I started feeling a bit uneasy—about 1% discomfort.
Then, I added another teacher, Ms. Wu, on WeChat. Carrying my heavy suitcase, I followed her directions and met her after about five minutes. Ms. Wu gave me a meal card and a blanket, told me to go upstairs by myself, and said the room number was 1805.
I took the elevator up to the 18th floor—this was the last time I’d go up.
22:20 Start to scramble
When I reached 1805, I saw two students smoking in the dorm (discomfort level: 10%). I greeted them and prepared to settle in, tidy up my bed, and start preparing for class.
After one of the students left, the remaining one came over to chat with me. He mentioned that he snores heavily at night and had moved out of his previous dorm because of it. Oh no! I’m an extremely light sleeper, and I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time. I was really hoping to sleep well tonight so I’d have energy for class the next day. So, I started messaging Ms. Wu and Ms. Zhang, asking if they could switch me to another room (discomfort level: 50%).
Aside from snoring, talking a lot, and smoking, this guy was actually really nice—kind and helpful. I didn’t dislike him; I was just worried I wouldn’t sleep at all. Meanwhile, I noticed teachers in the hallway trying to coordinate a room change. It was already 10 p.m., and I knew it might not be easy, so I mentally prepared myself.
Sure enough, no room was available. They asked me to tough it out for the night, and I replied, “Alright then” (discomfort level now at 60%).
Since it was late, Huanhuan and I brushed our teeth together. I went to the bathroom (to pee) and found the toilet was clogged (discomfort level: 65%).
After complaining a bit, I started preparing for class. I figured I should be thorough since the new textbooks hadn’t arrived yet.
Since it was material I’d studied before, I quickly reviewed it with my own book and got a general idea of how to teach the next day. Feeling drowsy, I decided to sleep.
Around 1 a.m., I took a melatonin pill, turned off my phone, and tried to sleep. As usual, I couldn’t fall asleep, though I didn’t have any obsessive thoughts. But I knew if I stayed up all night, I wouldn’t be able to teach the next day.
03:17 Decide to back
Sweet dreams didn’t come—but the snoring did. Around 2 a.m., my roommate fell asleep, and the snoring began, relentless and powerful, just as he’d described. I tried forcing myself to get used to it, but it was no use. By 3:30 a.m. (discomfort level: 100%), I decided I couldn’t handle this assignment anymore. I didn’t care about the pay or anything else—I just wanted to sleep. So, I sent them a message saying they should find someone else.
I quickly got up, packed my laptop and other belongings, and quietly left the room and the building. Downstairs, I couldn’t find an exit. I ran into a boy and a girl in shorts taking out the trash and asked them. They said it seemed locked.
No way—I had to get out! So, I took the stairs down to the basement. I could see the street outside, but it was blocked by a metal fence. After looking around, I noticed a section where the wall extended about 10 cm beyond the fence, and there was a small gap. I figured I could climb over.
Without hesitation, I lifted my suitcase over my head, pushed it outside, and stood it up. Then, carefully gripping the wall, I hoisted myself up with a push from my butt. The ledge was too narrow for me to pivot or jump, so after some awkward shuffling, I stepped onto my unsteady suitcase and wobbled my way down.
Then, I hailed a ride to go somewhere else. I thought about going to a massage parlor for a few hours but worried Huanhuan might overthink it.
Next, I considered a internet café, but when I got there, it was too noisy, so I left without going in.
03:49 Good night
A light rain fell indifferently as I stood there for a moment. Eventually, I booked a place to stay. After lying awake for a while, I listened to Flowers for Algernon and finally fell asleep. I don’t know when I drifted off, but I was later woken up by the same audiobook—I hadn’t set a timer or turned it off, so it suddenly started playing again around 6 a.m.
I muted my phone and went back to sleep…
After 9 a.m., I replied to their messages, saying I’d already left Guiyang. I also offered to ask my juniors if they’d take the assignment, but they were too busy with graduation stuff. Oh well.
09:38 Wake up and go back
I got up quickly, washed up, and took a cab to the train station. I bought a ticket for 11 a.m. and just made it. At the station convenience store, I grabbed a cup of instant noodles—breakfast and lunch sorted.
The train was nearly empty, so everyone could sprawl across multiple seats. I just lay down.
I got off the train at 3 p.m., feeling utterly exhausted. I ignored all the offers for lodging, taxis, and food nearby and headed straight for the bus stop, taking the bus back to Huayudong.
After getting off the bus, I saw a lamb noodle shop. My brother had said it was good, but then I remembered I hadn’t earned a single cent these past two days and had already spent over 300 yuan. I couldn’t bring myself to splurge.
So, I decided to go home and cook noodles instead. Maybe because I was hungry, I ate a sausage raw, fried another sausage and two eggs, boiled some noodles and potato skins, and had a delicious meal while on the phone with Huanhuan.
19:10 Hang out with mom
I rested for about an hour. As dusk fell, I called my mom and asked if she wanted to go for a walk. She’d just come to Shuicheng from our hometown and wasn’t familiar with the area, so I thought I’d show her around. We walked from Minghu Market along the Shuicheng River all the way to People’s Square, stopping to buy two ice cream cones along the way. Mom said she’d seen on TikTok that people with thyroid nodules shouldn’t eat them, but I told her not to worry—it’s just sugar and water, and she shouldn’t believe everything online. Reluctantly, she started eating, and I taught her to lick from the edges so it wouldn’t melt and drip on her hands.
In the end, she said the cone was pretty tasty.
Then I walked back on my own, and just like that, the day came to an end.