It's life, Jim, but not as we know it!

Hello people

Well, now I know that at least one person is reading my blog (thanks Jess!) I will write some more...

Teaching started this week at Yunnan University of Finance and Economics. As far as I knew, my classes started on Tuesday. The timetabled class I had for Monday was not due to start as they were first years (or so I thought!) and they have military training at the start of term. However, at about 10am, I got a call telling me I was supposed to be teaching. Yippee! So I had to teach a speaking class for nearly two and a half hours with no materials and no preparation. And it was on the 9th floor! Can't even remember now what I did with them - haha! Oh well, as Nietzche said 'That which does not kill us...' So, I've decided that the two most important qualities for living and working in China are patience and a sense of humour. The phrase to keep in mind (as one of the other foreign teachers said to me) is 'water off a duck's back'.

Anyway, the rest of my classes this week have passed off without problems, largely due to their being slightly more expected! I asked the students to write about what they wanted to learn in English class. A couple of classics: 'I hate English. We had to learn English in Middle School. If I had a choice I would learn Japanese or Korean.' Ok... Then one student came up to me and explained that they had already done what we were doing in class (introductions) and that maybe it was a bit boring! Thanks for that... (that was the class I had no chance to prepare for!)

The other teachers here are: Russ (ex-lawyer from New York), Jared (American, just out of University), Scott (Canadian, experienced teacher), Craig (American and here with his Chinese wife, Vicki), Lois (American, retired psychologist and very gutsy), Carlotta (American and has been in Kunming a while), Rouhe (says she's Canadian) and Tim (American, married with kids).

Since the youngsters (Russ & Jared) arrived, I've been able to explore some of the local nightspots a little. We're starting to meet Chinese people as well, which is especially good as we're all keen to improve our Chinese. We're thinking of engaging a teacher and are going to try the free classes here at the University. We've also been trying out the different types of food available in Kunming - including pizza!

I have finally been struck down by some lurgy and spent last night with bad stomach ache. It's better today, but not much. I will have to call on Laurent's famous remedy - Coca cola.

'Eighty percent of success is showing up.' Woody Allen