Sometimes life here seems cheap.
Some friends invited JD and I to go fishing with them today - something JD loves to do. We bought a rod and reel on the way to the reservoir and spent a fun afternoon casting off, and jumping in their tent during bursts of heavy rain.
Despite the new and expensive angling gear, it was JD's simple "trap net with fish food in" that caught the only decent fish [see above]. But we had fun trying. We rounded off the day with a visit to Pizza Hut.
 JD got a letter form his Primary School teacher at the end of last semester. Translation reads: "Dear ZhuPinXiu, I like your pure, kind and generous personality. I want to tell you, 'The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be broken. I hope you can speed up and improve your learning. Then you will be the best! Love, your teacher" Sweet message, although the "Kingdom of Heaven" quotation bit is bit of a mystery! JD returns to school next week. [...and a nice spelling of UNIVERSITY there!]
 Yesterday, we took a trip out to CongMao Reservoir with two of JD's old schoolfriends and their parents. We hiked up a mountain collecting edible mushrooms and checking out the wildlife!
After an evening meal together Jiajia, JD and I drove on to a 5 star hotel for the night. Jiajia had secured some vouchers for three nights, at 10% of the usual price. So we slept well on the 20th floor (great views) and pigged out on the buffet breakfast this morning. We'll use our two additional nights later in the year.
 JD, Jiajia and I spent yesterday afternoon at the Secret Forest with one of JD's schoolfriends and his Mum. We had a picnic first and then headed into the woods. I spent a few hours repairing the roof damage in our den, while JD and his friend had a go at building a new den nearby [see below]. It was a very hot and sunny day so, when we left at about 5pm, we were happy to stop at a nearby shop for an ice-cream. Fun day! 
 He said to us that he was selling pets, but everyone I spoke to afterwards said it is for food, and therefore illegal.
 My first blog entry was August 12th 2005, starting on a "Yahoo" platform and switching to the current Weebly program in 2009. So today marks 17 years of blogging. I reckon that's well over 3000 entries! Who knew I'd be keeping it going this long? But as long as there's Chinglish to share...!
We finally managed to organise JD's flight simulator visit today - a treat promised for his birthday back in March! He had been before, along with 50 other kids for a brief 15 minute "flight". But planes are JD's passion and he very much wants to be a pilot when he grows up.
I've been giving JD English/Maths work during the holiday (only 30-40 mins from me, compared to the daily 1-2 hours Chinese from the school!) but I try and make mine as interesting and fun as possible. We've worked out how much water is in the local swimming pool, the area of various pan lids and, for English, a project writing up the specs of various aircraft (JD's passion).  But today's homework was for JD to work out how to get to the Wanda Towers (a landmark shopping mall across the city) by public transport in time for a McDonalds lunch! He worked out the best route using my phone app (walk, underground, change trains, bus, walk) and then we went and tried it out. JD took the lead, using underground maps, bus timetables and asking locals for help where necessary. I just tagged along! We arrived 12.10pm - perfect.
We planned a different route back over an ice-cream and got back home two hours later. I am hoping JD might gradually pick up the bug for independent travel as I once did in my teens.
 We're back from our holiday in Dali.
And yes, we fnjoyed ourselves. We grabbed our last chance for a swim in the outdoor neighbourhood pool yesterday before heading back to Kunming today.  The pool was pretty cold, but JD managed 500m of fast-improving breaststroke before calling it a day.
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 AuthorPaul Hider started this blog to share his rather odd life living in China for over 20 years. Since returning to the UK in 2024, the blog now records his more "normal" lifestyle! Past blog entries
December 2024
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