Creepy crawly day!

Last night we were serenaded too sleep around midnight by some fireworks and then at half past five some good morning fireworks followed by a procession including a marching band, vans full of speakers and instruments and hundreds of walking people, for no obvious reason!

Later in class I was talking away when a big cockroach crawled up the curtain to one side. I pointed at the cockroach and told it to leave, just to take the class off the edge and they laughed but someone threw something knocking it into a group of girls, as I made my way over to sort it the cockroach ran to the door, I opened the door for it and it obligingly ran through but Sat in the doorway. Seeing my chance I gave it a good kick out the door and into the bin nearby, to a huge round of applause from my students, I finished by stating, he didn't pay his school fees. Very fun!

The creepy crawlyness continued because after we taught our first evening class for the older kids we went to cook rice and noticed that some nasty little bugs had got into our rice barrel, a shame as its a massive box to throw away. The problem was we were too exhausted to go and buy some more yet had nothing for dinner so making sure we washed it well and checking for bugs we still ate it! Haha. To be honest there are only 4 bugs in a massive tub of rice but still it is enough to put us off. A new bag tomorrow I think!

First lesson at 7.20 tomorrow, bleh! I will be tired! Ah well, at least we get an early weekend with Friday afternoon off!

Wow second week in!

Can't believe i've been teaching two weeks already! Had the monday off last weekend which was nice but my classes are heavily weighted on wed-fri so it didn't make a huge difference.

I forgot to blog about our meal last week, every time we go out they always but a crate of beer and some wine and it turns out its only really for me and chris, this is good when we have the time but last week it was thursday night when we hit the beers and chris got a little merry and didn't enjoy friday morning class as much as he should have, especially for an introductory lesson! This week they tried to butter us up and lunchtime with some beers! Luckily I managed to dodge most of them! 

This week we got short notice of an orchestral night going on in Lingxi and asked if we wanted to go, we accepted and got the free tickets, it was being staged in a nearby cinema and so we went along with Elaine. I had never been to an Orchestra thing before but I really enjoyed it, a variety of music, western, locally composed modern classic pieces, traditional chinese as well as some i actually recognised! They had some Opera as well and it was very fun. 

Having said that it was very chinese, ending on a random piece with a fake blacksmith playing the anvil with his hammers with a classical background whilst wearing a comedy nose... also many people talking loudly and sometimes having loud phone conversations and most people not really caring. Children were also free to wander around and run around the cinema with a free hand, nice to see that innocence! The best bit may have been that somehow a bat got into the building and although it was noticed nobody really gave it a second thought despite it flying around inside the cinema! 

Overall it was a great night, apparently a shanghai classical show that was on tour as our town is having a culture and arts festival! Not that you can notice!! I took some videos but will have to try and get them on youtube perhaps..

Really wanted to go to the beach today but Chris is taking art lessons and so couldn't have a lie in yesterday, so no beach today! so sad! next weekend I will go with or without him! 

The chinese is coming along, remembered most of it now and trying to talk more when I can, except only my teacher understands me! haha! 

Also saw one of my students wearing this tshirt, (obliviously of course) and had to take a picture, bless her! 

Wow what a first week!

The first week went well, I met all my students, they seem more outgoing than last year in the first lesson, and in general seem ok! Chris also met all my old students and seems to be getting along ok! 

This Saturday was teachers day in China, a time when students give gifts and cards to their teachers, and boy was that strange! We got stuffed animals, sports equipment, lots of food, mostly mooncakes (a traditional mid autumn (sunday) gift!) and flowers along with other random things, but it was very cool and the students were very sweet. sometimes standing up to sing happy teachers day to you! 

The weekend was good, hanging out with friends and then going on some adventures with Elaine. Elaine also took us for a meal at leftbank coffee, a swanky coffee place near the school, they give out ipads with the menu on! You can't order on the ipad, but you can look at pictures of the food... Weird, but kinda cool, and shows the type of people they are aiming at! Driving to the place we also stopped behind a nice brand news rolls royce with a very expensive number plate, i had to take a look! 

The parents said they want us to teach our private lessons on friday eve or sunday evening but we told them no, during the week or nothing! haha! we are so english, they really don't understand our insistence on weekends being free! 
Usual agency troubles and still got a month until we get paid anything, and its likely we will already owe that to a lot of people, to make matters worse by the time we get paid most of the terms holidays will have gone and we wanted to get some travelling in, fat chance of that it seems with no money! then we get money when we have no time to use it! damnit!

I'm sure loads more has happened but I will send this for now, maybe add in corrections later! 

Back into the second week now and pretty damn tired, the long weekend was very nice though! 

Welcome back our fellow travellers....

Welcome back and I see you've been kept up to date with our escapades so far... inclusive of our new exclusive snooker  

room with two tables (and extra long snooker queues); the disastrous lesson allocations with Nathan's 'reduced hours'.

I've been trying to help him fight his case that he wants more hours, but they're just not shifting on that front... otherwise

we're fighting fit and laughing with the complete craziness of China and its new system for traffic lights to control traffic

flow ... buy the biggest ones made of steel, lay them on the road and send the traffic of 6 lanes down a three lane road

that usually goes in one direction ;-) works a charm and leaves hilarity at the door and holding onto the seat of your pants

front and foremost in your mind!

So as my departing thoughts, here's a little something to make you snigger! enjoy :)

Zijian,

Chris

Ever wondered what a China man can achieve with just a firework?

First day

Phew, eased in gently with the first day only having two lessons and they went ok, the kids are a bit shy but hopefully they will settle into it (and I will too!) and it will all go ok! Two more tomorrow before things step up Wednesday, peak on Thursday and drop slightly for Friday, crazy times!

Early night tonight but managed to persuade Chris to cycle across town for dinner, picked up a few arm fulls of shopping on the way back too!

A great last week of freedom!

Since we got back and had a week in lingxi to get acclimatised again before we start the new term we have been taking full advantage.
I have been getting as many Chinese lessons as possible and Chris too and just enjoying our last break longer than 3 days for the next few months! We would have loved to go travelling but funding is at an all time low, I made a serious loss going home and spent way too much in England!

As a birthday present Elaine gave us a bicycle each! So kind! Not new, she actually was given them by students leaving for university but the black racing bike I now have is fantastic and after a quick once over to fix the brakes rides very well. Elaine and I cycled out into the area through the rice paddies and next to the river, through some small villiages which no foreigners had been to before and eventually cycled to a small town 15 or so km away. It was a nice ride and had a look around the middle school there which was fun.
I'm hoping to cycle to the sea one day and cycle and then climb one or two of the nearby mountains, I just wish Chris was a more confidant cyclist!
Picture of shiny new bikes attached!

We got our schedules today and it looks like Chris will be taking over my students in grade two and I will take on the new grade ones fresh into the school. Still not technically sorted my lesson plan but hey, I have 10 or so hours from now until I need to teach....

Found out there is a guy from England now teaching in DD dragon school nearby and he lives very close too! Will have to try to meet up for a drink this week sometime!

Chris and I also found out our school has a snooker room with two full size snooker tables in! So awesome! And Elaine managed to track down our own copy of the key! Whilst we were there we also explored a wing of the school we never got around to before and tried to get into the observatory but it was locked! Seems such a waste to have it but never use it! Hopefully we can sort something out.
We took advantage of the key and played a not so quick game but Chris and I will definitely need some practise before taking on the principal!

Elaine and I share an office with 3 other teachers and one day Elaine decided it needed an in depth clean, none of the other teachers turned up so I went to help her and ended up spending a full day on it! Pulling everything out and scrubbing the floors! Whilst this was happening there was a huge rainstorm caused by the typhoon in Taiwan and it was crazy. In various ways the building leaked, the worst being one place where a continual sheet of water blocked a corridor and another when an internal downpipe (don't ask me why) overflowed in the main hall, flooding it! Very funny!

I'm sure I've forgotten some things but will add them when I remember, a bit nervous at the moment, opening night jitters I guess, but after this week it should go more smoothly!

More as it happens.....