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...