About term too 02/08/2010
 The term has finally come to an end. Much as I love the job here, the final month of every term is pretty awful, as the usual 18 hours of teaching a week gets doubled to "compensate" for the students daring to miss a few weeks of lessons in August. Students, teachers and administration staff gradually get more tired, stressed, or even ill. Many parents get annoyed at having to bring their kids to school during the weekdays or when their child is one of those who can't attend the make-up class and therefore falls behind. Class numbers oscillate wildly, making lesson preparation, homework checking and end-of-term tests a logistical nightmare. Still, I'm a small cog in a big machine and this is a very entrenched routine, passively accepted by the Chinese teachers (if not the foreign teachers!). Suffice to say, I'm looking forward to my trip to Thailand with Ava for the first two weeks of August. Some might call it a "holiday" but I see it more as "rescheduled work"! Bon voyage 31/07/2010
 Two of my school's foreign teachers leave at the end of this term. I shall be particularly sad to say goodbye to Marie and Mark as both are ex-VSOs and both joined the school after my encouragement. They have both been excellent, reliable and creative teachers as well as good friends during their years here. Mark is returning to Wenshan (about 45 minute's flight from Kunming) and the previous job he had there, working at the Teachers' College. Marie leaves for Paris and a "new man" - the first time she has lived in her own country in decades! Bon voyage chaps! AnnAVAsery 30/07/2010
 Ava and I have been together for exactly a year today. It's been an unusual year with me being away for 3½ months, and JiaJia being away for a week or so every month buying stock. But for two oldish people used to being single, that's not been an overly bad thing, I think. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that. We're still very much together, yet to have an argument(!) and about to travel to Thailand for two weeks together. Who knows what the next year will hold? Happy Anniversary, JJ! Sun flower 29/07/2010
 I purchased one of these powered-by-sunlight dancing flowers, [see photo] the other day and have installed it in my lounge window. Having bought it from the "Everything for ¥2" shop and yet been charged ¥8 (80p) I simultaneously feel I have got a bargain AND been cheated! It happily dances away whenever there is enough light, so now I don't even have to look out the window to see if it is a sunny day. Cool! Common enjoyment? 27/07/2010
 When the organisers of the, "Construction of Thoroughfares for Cultural and Media Cooperation Meeting" decided they needed some foreign faces amongst the thousand delegates for the TV cameras to pick out, they contacted Robert's School (and other places). Unfortunately Mark (a fellow teacher) and I drew the short straw and so found ourselves catching a coach to a hotel on the outskirts of Kunming at 7 o'clock this morning. The "meeting" turned out to be six hours of mind-numbingly boring speeches on, "the use of Renminbi currency as a common fiscal settlement instrument for Pan-Asian trade partners".  Now I've been tricked into these thing before, so this time I came armed with a newspaper, an MP3 player and a Rubik's cube! However, after I'd finished all the news and the batteries had run out there was still 4 hours to go and there's only so much time you can spend trying to solve the Rubik's cube. So I drew a picture of a cowboy riding a horse. And if you want an idea of just how stupifyingly dull today was, just read the first sentence of the invitation letter (and yes, it's just ONE sentence!).  Happy Blogday! 26/07/2010
 My blog is now five years old, with the most recent year on the brilliant "Weebly" platform (sooooo much better than the old Yahoo one!). I've made over 1000 entries in that time and the site is visited by 50-100 individuals daily (143 today!!). I find it's the most efficient way for me to share and record my news and experiences with friends and family, near and far, plus a cathartic way for me to get through the odd difficult times. I follow the blogs of 4-5 other people too so, if you have one, or fancy starting one, do let me know. I'd highly recommend it! Smart girl 25/07/2010
 My sister-in-law, Sarah, recently sent out a UK fashion magazine for Ava to peruse. There are Chinese versions of Marie Claire and Vogue here, but Ava swears their fashions and styles are different, and lag behind the West. Anyhow, Ava took the mag to read on the plane to Shenzhen where she goes each month to buy stock for her shop. Apparently she was quite taken by one of the jackets [see photo, left] and decided to track down the factory that makes Dolce and Gabana clothes for export. Sure enough, she found the exact same jacket for sale there at a fraction of the cost [see photo, right]. Smart girl - in more ways than one!! Passing Go 24/07/2010
 Lesley and Edie flew off to Beijing this morning. It's been great having them around for more than the usual fleeting and cramped half-day or so. I've had some nice chats with Lesley and some cracking games of Monopoly with Edie. Her mental maths and strategic acumen is frightening for someone so young! I did manage to beat her once, after landing on Free Parking, picking up £3000 in cash, waving it in her face and shouting "LOSER!" Tears stopped play... but I still call that a win!! Ava has also got to know Lesley and Edie really well too and we will both miss them a lot as they leave the city, the Province, the country and then probably the continent! Fashion show 23/07/2010
 After a bit of shopping this morning L.E. and I went to Ava's flat for a delicious home-cooked lunch. But when Ava and Edie disappeared afterwards, Lesley and I suspected a plan was being hatched. Sure enough, half an hour later, we were invited into the bedroom where, to upbeat music, Edie treated us to a fashion show wearing various of Ava's clothes [see photo]. She had mastered the "fashion walk", the "pouting" and the "hip swing". Hysterical, especially when, without warning, one of the tops suddenly slipped down to her waist! Edie is off to Ava's shop this evening for, no doubt, further fashion indoctrination, while Lesley joins me at school to watch my lesson (and hopefully tell me where I'm going wrong!). L.E.aving 22/07/2010
 The first half (Lesley+Edie) of the LEAF family arrived in Kunming today. They are staying with me for a couple of days while Lesley observes some of my classes as part of the "Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language" course she is studying for. The rest of the family (Ali and Freda) will join them as soon as Freda's passport arrives from the Embassy! After 5 years in China, LEAF are finally moving on. First to Beijing where they are helping a friend set up a Home School business. Then a tour of New Zealand followed, hopefully, by a new job - they are awaiting confirmation of a post being created for Lesley in Malaysia. |  AuthorPaul Hider lives and works in China and regularly blogs about his strange life there
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