Thinking...

... of giving up on this blogging lark.

Just out of interest, is anyone still reading this?

Can you send me a comment if you are, please.

Ta.

The Humble Queue

What can I say? I'm British...

Now, I'm sure I've written about queuing before. I was deeply frustrated in China many many times by the almost complete lack of queuing. Anywhere. I remember getting excited [I know!] at Bank of China because there was a system of taking numbers and waiting your turn. It did go a bit wrong from time to time as someone tried to push in for a 'quick' query etc and wasn't turned away by the bank employee... but still. Then I was pointed in the direction of the 'foreigners only' queue and found that I could blatantly jump the queue. It all felt a bit wrong.

Still, there were still bus stations, train stations, bus stops, fast food restaurants, public toilets and, well, you get the idea.

So, it was great to be back in Britain over the summer and participate in effective, civilised queuing (mostly!) Coming to Spain, I didn't really know what to expect with regard to queues, but so far things have been entirely satisfactory. From experience at the post office and the doctor's, even if there is no obvious line in sight someone will invariably announce as you arrive that they are the last person in the queue, so you just have to watch them to know when it is your turn. And if no one does make such an announcement, then feel free to ask around for the last person. Long discussions can ensue, especially if someone was going to join the queue, but then went to check if they were in fact in the right queue. So are they still (despite being physically absent) in the queue? And don't forget to take into account the (usually) older members of the queue who may have decided to sit down on nearby seats, not necessarily in order...

That said, I still prefer going out in China. All done and dusted by 11pm (at the very latest) and you have plenty of time to recover from the evil baijiu you've been 'forced' to drink.

Hasta whenever...

Running.

I decided that my running needed some sort of focus, so I entered myself in a 10k race here in Jaen. It was part of the annual half-marathon, only this year they decided to open up a 10k as well to enable more people to participate. This suited me as I haven't been training for a half-marathon and didn't think I was really fit enough to do one (I now know I'm not!)

Anyway, I decided I'd push myself to see how fast I could go (despite the fact that it was the hilliest 10k I've ever run) and I did OK, coming in 3rd in the womens' race. It was a small field, but there were definitely more than 3 women running in the 10k!!!

I am now the proud owner of a (quite large) trophy and I had to stand on a podium to collect it. Very, very random, but fun.

Picture may follow.

Pottering along

I’ve felt lately, and I was feeling a little like this towards the end in China, that being home, i.e. in Britain, for a while would be nice. I miss things, such as being able to communicate freely with everyone (though this is less of a problem here in Spain than it was in China), things I am used to, things being easy.

However, last night I was also reminded of one of the pleasures of travel and living in the different places – meeting new people.

One of the other teachers at the school where I work, an American, invited the other teachers round to his house for dinner. He lives with his Spanish boyfriend in a house they have lived in together for six years. Their house is beautiful – decorated in a really interesting way and really cosy and homely. We had the open fire lit (the weather here has suddenly got cold) and it was nice being in a proper ‘home’ rather than rented accommodation. The meal was also really nice. We had salad with ranch dressing to start, followed by pork tenderloin with vegetables and then orange cake for dessert. I have to admit to eating quite a lot, but it was so tasty and it was really good to have someone else doing the cooking for a change.

It was a very good evening, the only downside being that I got home at about 1 am. Still, no chance to sleep in this morning as some builders were making a lot of noise somewhere nearby.

Still no internet, two weeks after having ordered it…

Something I was puzzling over the other day was the pecking order for bin scavenging. I was watching two people going through one of the big bins on the pavement here. (As many people live in apartments, they bring their rubbish down to the street and leave it in big bins). As I watched them, another person arrived to scavenge through the bin with them, and I wondered, as you do when you’re by yourself and possibly a little bit bored, how it works. Is there some kind of first come first served basis? Do they have to fight it out? Or is it all amicable and friendly. One to ponder… maybe…

On a different note, I had a great long weekend last weekend, cheaply exploring a few places in the immediate area. The next long weekend I plan to travel a bit further afield. This weekend I am taking part in a 10k race to get a time so that I have something to work towards for the next one I’m doing in December. Sadly the course here goes downhill on the way and uphill on the way back. That’s my excuse prepared anyway!

Red tape and randomness.

As is generally the way, and as I knew they would, things are starting to settle into some sort of pattern.

It is currently the 'Feria' in Jaen, though I have yet to make it inside the gates. Last Saturday night it was 3 or 3.30am when we got there and I had just had enough, so went home! I can't get used to the time people go out here and I've decided that I don't particularly want to. That night my flatmates got in at about 9 in the morning. As far as I'm concerned that's getting up late, not a time for getting in... hey ho.

Yesterday was a good day as I finally got my N.I.E. (Numero de Identidad de Extranjero), which should make things generally easier and ensure that I don't get taxed at 25% any more. Getting it was less than easy, however. To start with I needed to fill in a form (of course!) With that form I had to have a certificate of registration in the city. To get that certificate I needed a rental contract with my name on it. First hurdle. I had to wait until we had found a third flatmate for the landlord to come round and sort that out. That done finally, I returned to the Town Hall for the certificate, which of course involved two trips. Then I had to call the Foreigners Office and make an appointment. That involved dialling many many times and the number seemed to be constantly engaged. And then, even when I turned up for my appointment I had to queue to get a number to go through to the inner sanctum where my documents were processed.

That done, amid much queuing with mostly North African men, I had to go to a bank to pay some money to the National Treasury or something. Then back to the Foreigners Office (but only at 12pm), more queuing and finally I was sent away clutching a certificate with my number on it. Yippee!!!

And it's supposed to be easy for EU residents to work in other EU countries.

Apart from that, I had an interesting conversation with an old Spanish man yesterday. He sat down on a park bench next to me and asked me if I had a boyfriend. He then proceeded to tell me (I think!) about some cousin of his in Madrid who had some woman on the side and to warn me about the dangers of living in a different place from your boyfriend / girlfriend. I think he just wanted to talk to someone and seemed content with my brief nods and the occasional 'si'. The only slightly worrying thing was that he seemed to be leaning closer and closer as he spoke to me. Probably a bit hard of hearing or something...

So today I'm going for a day out with one of the other teachers at my school. She and her boyfriend have a car, so we're going to make good use of it and actually do something during our four day weekend. Saturday I'm going walking with a local walking group and at some point I'm going to try and sign up for the 10k that's going on here in Jaen next weekend.

More soon...

Exercising in a foreign language and all things Chinese...

Yes, I am still in Spain, but China seems to be following me. More of that later.

Exercise is a constant theme in my life. I like to exercise and I don't like the feeling of being unfit. Wherever I am, I always have my running shoes. It's free, you can do it almost anywhere and apart from the wear on the old knees, it's an excellent form of exercise. I've run in Australia, in the French Alps, through the fields in China and now here Spain. I've also recently joined a gym and have started going to the exercise classes there. So far I've done 'Body Pump' (EVERYTHING ached the next day, so it must've done my muscles some good), 'Pilates' (brilliant for a Monday morning) and 'Step' (confusing). My Spanish is still a bit ropey, so I'm kind of slow at everything, having mostly to wait for a physical demonstration rather than being able to use the oral commands to help me... Never mind. The women in the classes tend to be a little bit more vocal than those back home, shouting out 'Es muy facil!' [It's very easy!] or complaining when an exercise is a bit more difficult. One woman sat massaging her chest after a set of exercises meant to strengthen the pectoral muscles...!

I've also found a walking club and will be going on my first outing with them a week on Saturday. I'm very excited about that. It should be good for improving my Spanish and will get me out in the hills - yippee!

And so, China. I've already written that I miss the place. More than I thought I would. I'm particularly missing the food, so need to go shopping to try and find some of the necessary ingredients and try to cook my own.

I went for a Chinese meal when a friend came to stay with me, but of course it was Chinese food for Westerners and not a chopstick in sight... There are quite a few Chinese restaurants in the town. There are also lots of Chinese shops, one quite close to where I live. I went there on Monday and it was a dazzling Aladdin's cave of, well, tat, basically. But very cheap tat. I'll definitely be going there again! Here in Jaen (and maybe in the rest of Spain?) the name 'Chinese Shop' seems to be synonymous with very cheap and selling everything...

And finally, I went out last Friday evening with the new Erasmus students. My flatmate works at Jaen University and so gets to gatecrash such things. It was all quite noisy, with the Italians in particular making lots of noise. However, I ended up sitting next to four Chinese students, three from Nanjing and the other one from Changsha, of all places.

It's a big country and it casts its net wide...

Tomorrow is the start of the 'Feria' in Jaen, so there will be lots of eating, drinking, making merry and a three-day working week for me next week.

Hast luego.

Sunshine, bullfighting and singing 'Head Shoulders Knees & Toes' .

So, finally, I get the chance to write my blog again. A lot of time has passed since I last wrote, or it feels like it at least. I'm now in Jaen, in Southern Spain, with China seeming a million miles away in some ways, but definitely missed.

Term started at the private English school where I teach on 13th September. Things are gradually settling into some sort of pattern, though I've yet to stop feeling nervous and to fully gain control of one particular class of 7 year olds, but I'm working on it. I've also yet to get my special 'Foreigner's Number' (an ID number which means I'll no longer get taxed at 25%!) In order to get that I have to go to various places with various bits of paper, none of which can be done until I have my rental agreement. Happy days...

A friend visited last week and at the weekend we visited the Cazorla National Park area, which was beautiful. We only saw a small part of it, so I'll definitely be back to see some more.

The weather has been pretty warm, though is just starting to get a bit chilly. I'm struggling a bit with working afternoons and evenings - you basically spend all day waiting to go to work. It's also difficult to go to bed early and therefore difficult also to get up in the morning. However, I've joined a gym (yet another test of my poor Spanish!) and will be trying to get to the 9.30am classes at least (the 8.30am ones might be a step too far...)

Next week and the week after are short weeks - 4 days and 3 days respectively. Yippee! The second of those long weekends is also the Feria here in Jaen, so I'll definitely be reporting back on that. Which brings me nicely to bullfighting. Very much still part of the culture here. I've watched it a little bit on TV and no doubt I'll go to one just for the experience, but I can't say it's something I really understand.

And finally... 'Head Shoulders Knees & Toes'? The old favourite. I've sung it in England, France, China and now Spain. Can't go wrong...

Adios and hasta luego with some more photos hopefully.

Back home

I've not posted for a long time, but I've generally been enjoying being back in England.

The journey home was reasonably smooth. I called in at Pingxiang on the way [kind of] and had a last visit to my friends, Steven, Rose & Jasmine. Jasmine (now aged two) is speaking quite a lot and was even persuaded to say some things in English. They tried to get her to call me 'Auntie Steph' (in English), but the best she managed was 'Auntie Douf' (as in 'dou fu' - tofu), which cracked me up! I also called in at Shenzhen and met up with a former Pingxiang College student, Maggie. She's now working in Shenzhen and it was really nice to catch up with her (plus she found a nice hotel for me to stay in). I also had my one and only visit to the beach in China and it was so weird! We went in the evening and so it was very busy - people arriving after work and avoiding the heat of the day etc. It felt like the whole of humanity was either on the beach or in the water. This was made worse by the fact that the people 'swimming' were all inside a limited roped off area and most of them were wearing rubber rings. It was surreal. Difficult to imagine the scene unless you were there...

Anyway, I flew from Hong Kong to London with only some minor turbulence and the annoyance of the person next to me spreading out a bit too much while she was asleep. (I was also jealous of the fact that she was sleeping as I managed an hour tops). A chatty guy originally from Pakistan collected me in a taxi and I made it back to my sister's by about 6am on a beautiful, clear morning. It had only been eleven and a half months and I know that people are away from home a lot longer, but I was really glad to be back.

Since then I've been catching up with friends, bonding with my niece, running, swimming and enjoying the simple pleasures of empty pavements, being able to chat to random people in shops, old people on park benches etc.

Spain next. Watch this space...

And now, the end is near...

The proverbial curtain is hoving into view, but it's just one of those ones made of strands of beads, and on the other side... Well, don't want to stretch the metaphor too far.

So, anyway, it's a strange time. Lots of goodbyes, but at the same time lots of excitement about going home, seeing friends, family and in particular my niece (for the first time).

I finally gave my last exam yesterday, only a week and a half after all the other teachers! Not bitter at all. It was the British Literature exam and they did pretty well - I was pleased with them and their analysis of the texts. That class were my saviours. In a school where many students are apathetic towards learning English (to say the least!) their enthusiasm and aptitude were so refreshing. I also enjoyed teaching literature and remembering things about texts I studied over ten years ago.

Last night at an Italian restaurant in Kunming, my friend Rachelle and I were waiting to order. One of the owners brought a plate of fruit and cream to the table. Now, this has happened a few times before with random food and most times I've said 'this isn't mine' or 'I didn't order this', but then often it's just some free food they want to give us. So this time I didn't say anything, though I was a bit wary about digging in. Rachelle didn't hesitate and had a couple of forkfuls. Then suddenly, a waitress came up to our table, picked up the plate, said 'sorry' and walked off with it.... to another table! Yes, I'm afraid some poor customers got the plate and the fork that Rachelle had eaten off... haha.

And so next week I say farewell to Kunming and a little while later 再见 to China.

More Chinese generosity

Last weekend I finally made it to the hometown of one of my students in order to taste the famous Yi Liang duck. And well worth the trip it was too...

So, the story goes that someone from Yi Liang travelled to Beijing (can't remember why!) and took some food for the journey, namely duck. The people of Beijing liked the duck so much, that they decided to cook their own version of it, which became the famous 'Peking Duck'. Don't know if this is true, but it's a good story...

We set off late Sunday morning - myself and three students. We had a 40 minute bus ride and then were picked up by Yoyo's father and driven out into the countryside. It was nice to feel the fresher air and smell the greeness. Kunming is less polluted than some cities in China, but you still notice the difference when you go to the countryside.

Yoyo's father took us to a restaurant in a village. There was a kind of square in the middle of the village and around it were small structures used for cooking the ducks, plus lots of ducks, plucked and hanging on racks. The restaurant itself was a bit dirty, especially the floor - debris from various meals scattered around the tables - but the food was delicious! The ducks came with two different accompaniments: there was the traditional Peking plum sauce, or the local salt/pepper mix to dip it in. Sooooo good!

We each left the restaurant with a full cooked duck (complete with head and beak) to take home.

After lunch we took a short drive up a red-earth track to a small lake. There were lots of people enjoying the warm Sunday sunshine - fishing, playing cards and just generally chilling out.

Back at the bus station we met Yoyo's mother, who gave us drinks for the journey home.

We arrived back in Kunming at about 5pm, a little tired, but full of delicious duck (well, I was, anyway. My friend, Thao, was hungry again, but that's what she's like!!)

Yet another example of extreme kindness and generosity from Chinese people. Something I will definitely miss when I go home...

Going home

With only a month left to go here in China, from time to time (OK, maybe a little more often than that!), I think about what I'm looking forward to about going home and what I will miss.

Here in Kunming things are fairly easy mostly. You can get decent Western food and people generally don't stare (too much!) But it's still China and things are still significantly different from home. I'm looking forward to fish and chips (can't get those here), my mum's cooking, a big fat steak, some observance of the rules of the road, being able to communicate successfully in shops, taxis etc. I could go on, but I won't, because there are also things I'll miss - the unbelievable kindness and generosity of strangers, the food, the weather, the scenery, the friends I've made...

...

On Tuesdays I teach English to Mary, a hyperactive, but very, very bright nine year old. I cycle to her house and back through areas that obviously don't see many white faces, judging by the responses I get. I often hear 'hallooooo' and am sometimes unable to identify the source. Last week I swear that I was 'halloooo'ed' buy a policeman on a motorbike! Random people start conversations with me at traffic lights and I try to reply in broken Chinese. I often hear 'laowai' and sometimes parents encouraging their children to say hello to the foreigner.

Apart from the usual dangers of being on the road on my bike, I like those rides home. The sky is often clear, the temperature at a pleasant level. It's interesting people-watching too (as long as I don't let my attention wander too much...), though the enjoyment has been tempered slightly by the deteriorating condition of my borrowed bike, more specifically the chain. It kind of falls off. A lot. Luckily I am now an expert at putting it back on, but it's annoying nonetheless.

I should say as well, despite feeling like I've fought with many of them the whole year, I'll also miss the students. It's been an interesting experience and I've learned a lot. I was really touched last week when a couple of students (and not students who had particularly stood out at all) gave me gifts.

So, just two days of speaking exams, 4 writing exams and 200 exam papers stand between me and freedom. Piece of cake.

XXX

So there we sat, in a cold room with the sound of thunder rumbling round the hills, remembering an Australian with a big heart.

Not something I had anticipated doing on my thirtieth birthday, but Peter's death happened suddenly and the meeting to remember him was arranged for Sunday. A teacher on and off for several years at YUFE, Peter certainly seems to have touched many people's lives and many remembered his smile and generosity. His daughters had come over to China from Australia and must have found it strange finding out so much about Peter's life in China without him there. For me I remember a guy who was very helpful to me before I ever arrived in China and who would always joke around with me about something. He will be missed.

Last Saturday, the day before my birthday, we celebrated with a party at the apartment of one of my students, followed by bowling and a quick dance at Speakeasy. Part of the reason for celebrating a day early was that two good friends from England, Sophie and John, were visiting me as part of their whistle-stop tour of China, but were due to leave the morning of my birthday. It was a cracking evening, especially for someone who usually dislikes being the centre of attention.

The next day I completed my East-meets-West birthday, being taken out for dinner by the parents of some Chinese children I teach English to. It was a really nice meal - good restaurant and a really kind gesture. We even had Chinese birthday cake, though this was massacred rather than cut by the nine-year-old wielding the (plastic) knife!

And so it is now June and there are just four more teaching weeks left, exams and then time for a rest, I think. I am looking forward to going home very much, but I will certainly missed the city that has been my home for the last nine and a half months and especially the people I have met here.

I wonder if I'll still be able to perform my favourite party trick in another thirty years...

Photos from Golden Week jaunt

I had trouble uploading these last time I tried, so fingers crossed...

Curry and Flying Tigers

When you think about eating at a restaurant in China, the first word that springs to mind is probably not 'curry'. In fact, it could well be the last... But yesterday I had my first taste of Indian food in nearly 9 months and certainly the first time in China, and it was worth it! A recently opened Indian restaurant in Kunming, with branches in Xi'an and Chengdu, proved to be a good place to find a decent curry and I know my tastebuds enjoyed the different flavours.

Another first last night - going to the cinema in China. We went to watch the new Spiderman film, which wasn't bad. The cinema was nice, though the whole viewing experience was marred somewhat by people holding full-scale conversations on their mobile phones during the film. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised, knowing the extent to which mobile phones rule here (it's not considered rude to break off in the middle of a conversation with someone in order to answer your phone and I'm sure that most people are unaware of where the on/off button is located on their phone...) The lack of an advert at the start of the film, politely reminding cinema goers to turn off their phones, should also have alerted me to what was ahead, but honestly! What is so important that it can't wait till the end of the film? What makes people think that other people in the cinema want to listen to their conversation when they have paid 30 yuan for the pleasure of watching a film on the big screen with full stereo surround sound?

OK, rant over. For now.

Anyway, so, Golden Week was interesting. I went with Rachelle, another foreign teacher at YUFE, and a couple of Chinese families to a place called Tengchong in western Yunnan. It was a really interesting and beautiful drive there - lots of mountains, trees etc. We had hot springs and a big pool just outside our hotel room at one place we stayed, we visited a museum about the Flying Tigers and the Hump during World War II and also climbed a volcano. We ate some wonderful food... but, I found the experience a little frustrating. First of all, we had three children with us. Now I like children, but having someone else's child come into your room first thing in the morning and say 'Get up! Get up!' [albeit with very good English pronuciation] is not ideal. I also found that we spent a lot of time driving round, asking for directions, trying to find somewhere with 'hao chi' ['good food'] and not so much time doing things I would have liked to have done. Oh well.

Photos to follow.

Today I am mostly sheltering from the rain and marking a mamouth pile of exam papers. Lucky me. Fortunately there have been enough random unsollicited comments on them to keep me amused - extra points for any student who makes me laugh as I am marking their paper!

Can't wait for the end of the month - a visit from friends and my birthday...

Photos only

Here you go...

I have of late...

... but wherefore I know, not lost all my... hang on a minute! It's OK again.

Thanks, Hamlet, but I don't need to borrow your words just yet. Last week when I thinking about writing my blog, I was feeling kind of fed up and tired of everything Chinese. It was all part of feeling homesick, I guess - something which doesn't really affect me often. But fortunately, it seems to have passed. Yippee!

So, Sally's visit was great - we did lots of stuff in Kunming, visited Dali, did a bit of hiking and even went to a maths lesson at a secondary school (that was for Sally). Things are now back in their usual pattern, with less than a week until the May holiday. It remains to be seen exactly which days will be holiday, but no doubt we'll find out the day before the holiday starts.

Friday we had a great burger party at a friend's house (thanks Jared for the bacon cheese creations!)

Now, I'm sorry [not really!] to mention spitting again, but as anyone who has lived in China will know, there's a lot of it about. Last week in one of my classes I heard one of my students making the horrible 'hawking' noise that usually precedes spitting. I looked around, but couldn't work out who had made the noise. Then it came again. And finally, a third time. This time I spotted the culprit and invited him to go to the toilets to do it. I was kind of shocked. I had got the impression that the younger generation didn't tend to spit. Then later, a child who couldn't have been more than 2 years old, and who seems to hang out in the copy shop made the nasty sound and spat. Being a child he hasn't yet mastered the whole projection thing, and the spit ended up down the front of his clothes, but still...

The word from Beijing is that the Chinese are trying to clean up their act (literally) in time for the Olympics (thanks, Rachelle): http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/world/asia/17manners.html

A few snapshots from yesterday:

(1) Me sitting in a Chinese friend's car with a pile of 50 or so of students' CVs and covering letters on my lap, a red pen in my hand and the beautiful Yunnan countryside rolling past.

(2) In a restaurant in Gejiu with my friend, a ten-year-old and a couple of Chinese men I had only just met, eyeballing a plate full of what I think were grasshoppers and dragonflies. (Yes, I did try them!)

(3) My friend saying I would be back home by 11.30pm [famous last words!]

(4) Driving along, suddenly hearing a funny sound and trying to persuade my friend to pull over.

(5) Sitting at a toll gate just outside Yuxi waiting for a Chinese surgeon to arrive in his Buick and see whether or not his wheel would fit on my friend's car.

(6) Wandering round a Volkswagon garage at midnight while a mecanic did his stuff and the rest of us watched.

(7) Going to bed at 3am and getting up again at 8am for my busiest day of the week...

On that note, I'm off to bed! zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

School trip

Kunming has been looking lovely the past few weeks with the blossom out everywhere [and hordes of people taking photos, but I can't blame them and I have indulged a little myself as well...]

The weekend before last, several of the foreign teachers, plus a load of people from the Foreign Affairs Office departed for a trip to Xingping (to the south of Kunming). Though we did spend quite a lot of time on the bus (and a very nice bus it was too), we visited some really spectacular mountainous areas, ate some nice food and stayed in a couple of reasonable hotels (shame about the karaoke place on the floor below us in one of them!) It's probably a place I wouldn't have gone to had I not been taken there, so that's an added bonus. We also had a police car with us the whole time as the Head of Security for the university decided to come with us on a jolly. His flashing lights came in handy one evening when we were following him to find a performance place and he pulled off down a side road...

Still hot and dry here - especially in my apartment. I like the way I get the extremes of temperature up here. It's not enough that I have to climb four flights of stairs several times a day, but I also freeze or fry depending on the weather... Hey ho.

'Frustrating' or a variation thereof is definitely the word of the last few weeks. I like teaching. A lot. But I find it difficult and frustrating trying to teach students who blatantly would rather be anywhere other than in an English class.

However, I have my first visitor from Britain here, so thank you, Sally, for making the effort to come and see me and for bringing Cadburys chocolate with you!!!

Communication

Never easy, though it is getting better and some days I feel like I am really getting somewhere.

Still trying to get over a Chinese friend who wanted to do a language exchange with me, telling last week my speaking in Chinese was not very clear! (This is despite hardly ever having a problem being understood as long as I know the words for what I want to say...) This was followed by her daughter completely not understanding my trying to ask her 'Is the food nice?' (in Chinese). Now this is something I have said about a million times and up until now never had a problem being understood. Though it is of course possible her daughter thought that I was speaking to her in English!

But yesterday was good. I had a really good chat with a taxi driver who works on ships and has been to Britain and Ireland amongst other places. He also knew a few words of English, which helped matters enormously. I managed to answer quite a few of his questions in Chinese, understand what he said to me and even asked him a couple of questions of my own.

Then I had a brief chat with the woman who puts credit on my mobile phone for me. I can say much more to her than I could back in September, though that's not really saying much! It generally ends up being about the weather or something equally scintillating. Conversations tend to run their course fairly quickly when I have exhausted my limited vocabulary and selection of phrases. Oh well, it's still not bad. It's all progress, I guess.

A litany of mini-disasters and / or near-misses

Well, it's been an interesting day. The morning was quiet enough - doing preparation for the rest of the week. I should maybe have seen it coming when a [I presume] student kindly (!) told me when I could cross the road in front of the university. (Don't know how I've managed to cross roads by myself all these years). He then asked me where I was going and if I needed any help. Of course it was very nice of him, but completely unnecessary!!!

And so a list of what followed:

1. Lost a piece of paper on which I had written the information needed to buy a plane ticket for a friend who is coming to visit me.
2. Said piece of paper also had on it the names of recommended running shoes (I was planning to buy some later).
3. Handcream top came off and the handcream splodged out all over the inside of my bag.
4. Nearly got my arm stuck in a bus door as the driver tried to close it just as I tried to go through it.
5. Someone tried to rob me and actually had their hand in my bag - gave him what for when I realised!!

OK, so it's maybe not quite a litany and on the plus side I survived yet another day crossing the roads here, managed to buy both the plane ticket and also my trainers. Yippee! But I did end up walking home cos the buses were just too full.

Felt like more people than usual were staring at me today, though it might just have been that I was noticing it more. Seems worse when I have my hair down. When people staret I still often wonder if I have something on my face like a dirty mark, but I never do. Ah well...

Thinking about how my day has gone, it might be a good idea to move my mouthwash off the shelf on which I keep all my cleaning products.

What is it they say about life and a tapestry and something about rich or something...?!?

Working again...

I survived my first week back after a long holiday (it's ok, I'm not looking for sympathy!!) Classes went really well actually, though by 9.30am on Friday morning I was ready to drop. Luckily I have a long weekend - no classes now till Tuesday morning.

Thursday was the most crazy day: I started at 8am and taught till 11.20am, then again from 2.30-4pm. After that I went to collect my 'new' bike from a Chinese friend. It's fine - pink and the saddle is far too low, the handlebars far too high and it has no gears. However it was also free, so I'm not complaining. Came back here for dinner at a Korean restaurant, then a concert performed by a symphony orchestra from Hanoi (which of course we were only told about earlier the same day!) It was very good and made me realise how much I miss listening to live music.

Oh, and I found someone to go running with, which is cool cos Kunming is a great place to run - lots of sunshine and the high altitude makes it good training. The only difficulty I've had is finding somewhere to run. My new running partner runs by the massive lake here, Dianchi (where he also lives). It's flat, the roads are wide and relatively traffic-free and there are plenty of stalls selling water. What more could you want?

I think leaving this place may be harder than I thought...

'Humor is reason gone mad. ' Groucho Marx

Chinese New Year in a blur of baijiu.

So, I arrived back in Kunming on Monday evening to clear skies and much warmer temperatures. I had spent Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, with my Chinese friends in Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province. I had a great time, though it's a very different experience being in Pingixang than being here in Kunming, and it was nice to get back to my own place.

Having found it difficult
to buy a train ticket, I decided to fly from Kunming to Changsha. I then took a bus directly from the airport to Pingxiang. As usual, I managed to make a friend on the bus - a guy from Pingxiang who's now working in Shanghai (I think!) and who was happy to chat and practise his English. In fact, I spent the whole holiday chatting to people who wanted to practise their English. It's nice to be in a place where you're kind of special and where people are always friendly and welcoming. Though of course the flipside of this is that I have to put up with lots of staring and comments of 'laowai' ['foreigner']. I am much more used to this now than I was when I first arrived in Pingxiang in 2005 and sometimes I even make jokes with people about it. The interest is always based on surprise and curiosity and not hostility, so smiling and saying 'hello' seem to be an appropriate response.

During my holiday I spent some days with Steven (my Chinese friend)'s parents, also making a trip to his grandparents' house in the countryside. I also spent a couple of days with a former student of Rick's - her home is in the deepest countryside and has no running water or gas. Washing is done with a bucket and food is cooked over a fire fuelled with coal bricks. Water comes from a well and is routinely boiled. When we walked about the countryside, whole villages of people were staring at me.

Another highlight was going to Huang Shi Mu (sp?) with Joseph, one of Rick's friends, and some of his friends from the photography club. We had quite a steep climb up the mountain and stayed in a guesthouse near the top - again no running water and this time also no electricity except for a short time from a generator. Good job I took a torch and it was a clear night - the stars were amazing and the moon very bright. The toilets there were across a stream, accessed across a rickety bridge! Kind of puts you off getting up in the middle of the night...

New Year itself was very noisy - many many fireworks and firecrackers going off for days and days. It was incredible - I've never heard anything like it before.

So, the Russians drink vodka, the Chinese drink baijiu. I think it's to do with the cold - houses are largely unheated and so as well as wearing all your clothes a shot of the strong stuff helps keep you warm! We drank a fair bit during the festive period. Some was bought from a shop, but quite a lot was home made from... erm... I'm really not quite sure! At one place it arrived at the table in a soft drink bottle, obviously decanted out from some vat somewhere.

Food... more meat than normal on the table, including the special treat of dog (which I mostly avoided this time - put off by having a live one running round my feet while we were eating, though I did eat some donkey meat). Lots of snacks - fruit, nuts, some sweets. Lots of visitors and trips to other people's houses to eat and drink.

It was cool because this time Steven and Rose's daughter got a lot more used to me and was quite friendly. She's very cute and now learning to speak.

I also started learning how to play Majiang, though I am a bit slow at it still.

Well, that's a very brief version of my trip. Here are some photos.

Teaching starts again next week so I'm looking forward to finding out which classes I'll be teaching...

Perils of life in the Middle Kingdom

I know, I know... I've written before (at least once) about the hazards of being a cyclist here, but sometimes problems come from rather unexpected sources. Yesterday, I was on my way home, using the cycle (for 'cycle' read cycle / pedestrian / moped / though not usually horse) lane when I saw ahead of me what looked like a wet patch. A woman was tipping washing-up liquid on it and a man was also tipping boiling water on it. He shouted 'be careful!' at me (amongst other things which I couldn't understand) and waved his arms about. I wasn't sure what to do? Should I stop? Was is something toxic?!! So I stopped and put my foot down right in the middle of it. Good move, Steph.

Turns out it was oil and so I spent the rest of the journey home trying to maintain my dignity while my left foot repeatedly slid off the pedal. Not ideal.

Another thing... many lights here, particularly in apartment building stairwells are sound-activated. A clap of the hands will usually do the trick, though stamping your foot sometimes works better. All well and good until you trying doing that in your own home (no sound-activated lights there) or, even worse, outdoors when it's dark.

'To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.' Bertrand Russell

I know exactly how you feel...

So... I'm enjoying being on holiday and I haven't quite got bored yet (though there's still time!)

Yesterday I finally visited Kunming Zoo. I'd been putting it off for ages and I was mostly justified in that - it was a bit of a depressing experience with old and quite small cages for the animals and a strange show which included performing birds, monkeys, bears and a dog. It also appeared as if there weren't quite enough animals in the zoo for the Chinese tourists to look at... yep, I got stared at!

As if I didn't stand out enough with my fair hair and blue eyes, sometimes I just have to go and draw attention to myself by doing something stupid!!! Today as I was parking my bike at Carrefour I managed to knock into the next bike and then had to watch in disbelief as a load of them toppled over, domino-style... Despite it all happening in slow motion I was powerless to do anything until they were all on the ground and I had to pick them up again!

The weather has got quite a lot warmer and I am enjoying eating 20p strawberries as I write this - there are some things I love about this country!!! However, I did risk life and limb on my bike to purchase them.

As well as strawberries, the shops are full of things for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year): decorations, special food and gifts... It's a little bit like Christmas back home. It also means that most of the kids are now on holiday, which in turn means that there are more of them wandering the streets and shouting 'hello' [or more accurately 'halllooo!'] at me. Still, I guess I should be glad that they're learning something at school.

And finally, as I am unable to go running here (lack of nice places to go and unwillingness to be stared at any more than is usual!), I have decided to take up skipping. Will keep you posted, but so far about 10 seconds is all I can do.

A Chinese Winter Wonderland

Wow - it's snowing! Apparently this only happens once every few years in Kunming, so we're very lucky. It does make me nostalgic for the Alps in winter.

Speaking of which, I just recently got back from a trip in Yunnan. I visited Dali, Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge. Although I wasn't that keen on Dali when I arrived, it grew on me and I think it would be a nice place to hang out for a few days. I stayed the first two nights half-way up a mountain, Cang Shan to be precise, at a height of around 2600m. I stayed at a place called Higherland Inn (www.higherland.com) and it was wonderful. Being Winter, it was especially quiet, only a Chinese girl and I, plus two Frenchmen who seem to spend a lot of time there. The owner, Li Ping cooked really good food and it was great place to chill out and escape from people (not an easy thing in China!) In the evenings after dinner we sat around the log fire reading with a couple of dogs and a tiny kitten for company.

I spent the following two nights in the town of Dali, which was also quite relaxing, mainly because I didn't do very much! However, I hired a bike and cycled to Erhai Lake and visited a village called XiZhou (only 18kms each way!) Dali is quite attractive, though far too full of shops and tourists for my liking! I also spent some time with Amanda, my new Chinese friend, which was cool.

After Dali, I moved on to Lijiang. Now, if I thought Dali was bad, Lijiang was a hundred times worse! As one of my friends described it, 'Disneyjiang'!!! Oh well. So, I found a bed for the night, visited Black Dragon Pool Park, ate some pizza and planned my escape... When I was staying at Higherland I got chatting to the Frenchmen and told them I was heading to Lijiang. They asked me if I was going to Tiger Leaping Gorge. I had thought about it, but wasn't too sure about making the trip and doing the hike by myself etc., so I had kind of decided against it. However, they told me that it was really worth it and, not wanting to spend 3 more days in Lijiang, I threw caution to the wind and got on a bus headed for Qiaotou.

I was a little apprenhensive, but I met some Germans when we arrived - a couple called Maite and Christoph, and also a guy travelling by himself, Gerhard. We decided we would all walk together and it was really lucky for me that we did as they proved to be great people and I had a really cool time with them.

The walk itself was amazing - my photos are good but you can't really imagine how spectacular it is unless you have been there. The peaks tower above you and the water gushes along way below. Dry and bare hillsides give way suddenly to bright green terraces. Amazing. We stayed at the Halfway Guesthouse the first night - a wonderful place far away from the main road. The stars were something else. The second night we stayed at Sean's Place in Walnut Garden, also cool, but not quite as 'in the middle of nowhere'.

The second day we walked down the gorge to the river and then alongside it for a bit. We were stopped at regular intervals by people asking us for money to use the paths they had created and/or were maintaining, but I guess they needed the money more than us. On the way back up we met a man called Mr Xia who invited us in for tea at his house. He showed us his business card and gave us some of his corn alcohol to try - blimey, it was strong!!! He takes people hiking, horse riding etc and was really friendly. Communication was a little difficult, but I got by fairly well with my poor Chinese. We ended up using his and his friends' ponies the next day to go up the mountain. Wooden saddles and everything...

All in all, I'm very glad I decided to go to Tiger Leaping Gorge. Unfortunately, there is a plan to flood the valley and use it for HEP - see Sean's website for information on this: www.tigerleapinggorge.com.

I arrived back in Kunming last Friday in one piece, but managed to pick up some sort of stomach bug on the way back and was in bed on and off for most of the weekend. Business as usual once more in the stomach department, however, and it didn't do my waistline any harm!

Still snowing...

The festive season Chinese-style

Happy New Year!

Our Christmas party / performance organised by the Foreign Affairs Office for foreign students and teachers went off without a hitch. We performed 'T'was the Night Before Christmas' and also 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer' and hammed it up sufficiently, I feel. The rest of the evening went on a little bit too long, but was generally enjoyable, especially the bursting balloons game! Don't ask.

I spent Christmas Eve at the apartment of a foreign teacher at the Forestry College in the East of the city and met some very friendly students and had a cool time. On the way up to her apartment we passed a man and his herd of goats. Of course. As you do. (See picture of this an also a picture of one of the many horses that pull carts around the city).

I wasn't overly impressed to be teaching two classes on Christmas Day, but luckily my nice Accounting School class had arrived early and decorated the classroom for me. They also gave me a present, which was very kind of them. In return I let them perform a Christmas version of 'Blind Date'. The cultural references were a little bit lost on them, but they seemed to enjoy the drama and I even persuaded one of them to wear some cardboard antlers from our Christmas performance!

I had a break from Chinese class on Christmas Day and 'shared' Christmas Day lunch with my family via the webcam instead. Isn't technology brilliant?

Finally did my dance performance at Nordica last Saturday. We went from being seriously under-rehearsed to doing one of the best performances we'd ever done. Lois recorded some film of us dancing, but I think I will not be following Jared's suggestion to put it on Youtube!!

For New Year's Eve I went out for pizza with Jared and Lois, following a couple of cheeky vodkas before leaving the house! Lois then called it a night and Jared and I met up with a couple of my students, another foreign teacher and a random Dutch couple and did some dancing at Speakeasy. Midnight itself was actually a bit of a non-event as they just played some recorded 'bongs' and we weren't even sure they played them at the right time!!! Never mind.

I wonder what 2007 will bring...