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.