Blog

Nailed it

30/6/2015

After 8 hours of teaching, the last thing you want is to sit on your ebike and feel the thud of a completely flat back tyre, and spy a huge nail sticking out. Thankfully, workmen are fast and cheap in China. One phonecall from the wife (at home) brought a repair man to my rescue (at school) and, ten minutes later, the puncture was repaired and he'd filled both tyres with a special foam that should ensure no further nail-based incidents.

Jiajia nailed it herself, when she spotted a dress missing from her store and immediately checked out the newly installed CCTV camera footage. She watched a customer casually stealing two dresses and a handbag over two days of visits. Luckily, the lady returned for a third day of thieving and Jiajia caught her at it. Rather than getting the police involved, she agreed to pay top price for all the things she had stolen and promised never to return. The unexpected income paid for the CCTV installation costs and the shop assistants have been told to be a lot more vigilant in future!

Woman in blue walking off with a handbag.

Gotta hand it to them...

27/6/2015

I pushed and I pushed but nothing moved.
(...what's a "toliet" anyway?)

Demonic family

25/6/2015

Just as I often stuggle to be understood in Chinese I also, fairly regularly, struggle to understand other people's English. Two examples from just yesterday:

I texted my wife with a cheery, "You OK?". The reply was "Down"!? I'll let you ponder what that was supposed to mean (answer below).

And then a student introduced himself by saying, "I live with my parents and grandmother. We are a demonic family"!? What do you think he was actually trying to say?

Turns out my wife thought I was asking whether she had finished her trip to the bank and wanted to say, "Done". And my student believes he has a democratic family. It's not easy living here!

Pipe dream

24/6/2015

Fixed!

Regular readers may recall that when Kunming's reservoirs get low (an annual occurrence over the last decade), the water pressure in the city gets lowered and our house ceases to get any running water. That's because our neighbourhood happens to be at the highest altitude in the city. A water truck will fill up our water tower about 6pm, once a day, but once that's gone (1-2 hours) we are back to using buckets. But a couple of months ago, we thought we'd cracked it. We bought and had installed a large water reservoir on the roof of our apartments which would get filled up during the 6-7pm window and then last us through the day. Instant running water! No more buckets! Little did we suspect though, that we were actually doing our neighbours a huge favour.

The pipes had been wrongly installed in the building during construction, and so it was our neighbours who suddenly found they had running water, whilst we were no better off. What's more, we'd been paying their bills for a decade and they ours! We complained to the neighbourhood officials and yesterday they finally, and reluctantly, sent workmen to reconfigure all the water pipes. Bingo! We think we'll now have running water all year round, while our neighbours will have to rely on their tears of envy! I wonder if our water bills will rise or fall, though?

Stuffed

21/6/2015

I took some of my students to the Zoological Museum in Kunming today. Armed with a worksheet full of photos which I'd previously put together, they made their way around the stuffed animals, computerised activities and walk-through jungle simulation trying to spot all the animals. A rare trip out, very much enjoyed by all, with a large lunchtime KFC for me as a personal treat!

Beetlemania

19/6/2015

We saw this huge beetle on the beach at FuXian Lake. Cool!

Sights & sites

17/6/2015

We're enjoying our few days at FuXian Lake, despite cold weather which pretty much rules out swimming in any of the outside pools in the hotel. We decided to check out the indoor pool, but found it to be just as cold, which was a bit disappointing as JD loves to swim. Today, we met the lady who donated her time-share room to us and she insisted we spend an extra day here, which is great (especially as JD was under the weather with a slight fever for the first day). The walk down to the lake is lovely, with well-tended plants and flowers, and more natural areas [see above]. JD also spent a fun hour in the hotel's indoor play centre today and did some boating, too [below right]. Later, when we drove into town to visit the weekly farmer's market, we spotted a construction site which JD enjoyed watching for half an hour [below left]. Food in the hotel is prohibitively expensive, so we have been mostly eating at cheap restaurants just outside the gates!

We lake the view

15/6/2015

It turns out that one of Ava's newer cutomers has a time-share in a rather snazzy hotel by FuXian Lake, about 2 hours drive from Kunming and when she very kindly offered us a couple of nights there for free, we jumped at the chance.

The room was huge (supposedly 5 star) and the view through the wall-sized window was just stunning [see above]. In the centre you can see a man-made beach. On arrival, we made straight for that and JD, having only been used to a sandpit before, loved every moment [see left]. It was fairly overcast and very windy, however, so we didn't stay too long. Here's hoping for some better weather tomorrow.

Busy boy

13/6/2015

Keeping JD occupied each weekday requires quite a bit of imagination and energy. Constructing crafts and visiting places of interest (play centres, train trips, parks, museums, boat rides, etc) will, we hope, foster his curiosity, independence and language. With the likelihood of Kindergarten classes starting in September, he will be occupied elsewhere so enough, and I can contemplate a few hours of doing what I want to, in relative peace and quiet. Maybe.

Examination nation

11/6/2015

It's that time of year when attendance at our weekend classes drops and we start getting furtive phone messages from students and parents saying that the exams are imminent and all other activities for their child must take a back seat. The GaoKao is the rather more succinct name for the "College and University Entrance Exam" and over 9 million Chinese kids will take it this year. This one week of exams will define whether you can get further education and in which institution. The pressure is intense and episodes of cheating frequently make the papers. Some exam authorities even hover a drone over the exam hall to pick up any illegal mobile phone activity.

The union of the crayon trees

10/6/2015

Jiajia, JD and I will be moving into a small flat early next year while our main house is remodelled and redecorated. After 4-6 months we should be able to return to a beautiful "new" abode - at least, that's the plan. The new flat is on the 11th floor and overlooks a Kindergarten now sporting a natty new name!

School's out for Summer

9/6/2015

This is the last week of JD's Kindergarten classes (though we may pay to stay an extra couple of weeks to take us up to the Summer break). He's slowly learning to concentrate, work with other children, sing, dance and copy actions. Well in theory, anyway. On a good day he's a star. On a bad day he just doesn't want to be there and it's a struggle to keep him focused. But with the likelihood of full-time Kindergarten classes from September, it's been important to maintain some sort of school routine.

Thunderbirds are go ...again

7/6/2015

A colleague at work was kind enough to find and download the first ten episodes of the new CGI "Thunderbirds are Go" TV show. Many of you will know I've always been a huge fan of all Gerry Anderson's programmes - collecting toys and annuals, attending conventions, etc. I was a bit concerned at first that the revamped show would lose some of the original's quirky and imaginative nature but I needn't have worried. They've taken the best of the original show and updated certain aspects which just add to the pleasure. The CGI effects are world-class and the characterisation and plots are so impressive for what is essentially a kids' show. JD also loves the Thunderbirds countdown to launch and all the explosions, which is a generational delight for me!

Cheeper

5/6/2015

I've been investigating cheaper ways to fly back to the UK.
Any thoughts?

No crashing and no splashing

3/6/2015

I finally found a place that sells helmets the other day. Nobody in Kunming seems to wear them on bikes or e-bikes, so not many helmet shops exist! I bought one for me and another for JD. He seems to enjoy wearing his (claims he's Fireman Sam) but, with the sweltering weather we're having recently, it's proving impossible to get him into leathers and boots! Our "rainy season" has once again failed to materialise and our running water was cut off again today. Something of a summer tradition for our neighbourhood!

Water fun time

1/6/2015

Today is Children's Day in China. Schools usually organise student performances for the parents and games for the children. The Kindergarten where JD has a couple of lessons a week invited him and his classmates to join the older students for their celebrations. The theme was Dai Ethnic Minority culture. We first watched some of children and staff dancing, singing and playing instruments. Then there was an almighty water fight - reflecting the Dai Water-Splashing Festival - before some Dai snack food. JD was most taken with the water chaos, firing his pump-action pistol mercilessly at Chinese and foreigners alike and getting very wet and cold in the process [L->R below: Jiajia, me and JD].