Ocean of Morality
  • Blog
  • Family
  • Relatives
  • Countries
  • Gallery
  • Guestbook

Start from scratch...

30/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
This McDonald's placemat so nearly made sense!
0 Comments

KindergARTen

28/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
One of the nice things that teachers often do in JD's Kindergarten is to take photos of the class doing something and then send them to the parents' mobile phones. So we were able to see JD and his classmates painting outside during the morning and counter his usual, "Nothing" when we picked him up and asked him what he'd done that day!
0 Comments

A paw ling

26/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
It's JD's half-birthday on Thursday, so Jiajia bought him a little gift from the internet. JD enjoys watching the "Paw Patrol" cartoon and will no doubt love the little doggy characters. As for me, I'm concerned at why they are to be found in a  "concentration camp"? Did they have an unfortunate run in with some Nazis? Or perhaps someone misunderstood "paw" and thought it was "POW", prisoners of war? We may never now...
0 Comments

Monkey, fish, insect, spider, chicken...

24/9/2017

1 Comment

 
JD and I had a fun day out yesterday with five of his classmates and their families. We headed for XiYou Cave with delicious meals before and after the trip. Can you spot JD?
Picture
JD and I were picked up by one of the families and driven to the  cave. however, the other groups were delayed and so we eventually decided to have lunch before exploring the cave. JD thoroughly enjoyed feeding the fish, spotting and catching insects and tucking into a terrific roast chicken meal [see below]. Afterwards we climbed up a mountain path behind the restaurant until it ended at a locked gate.
Picture
Picture
Then it was off to the cave. JD and I had visited a year or so ago, but he seemed largely to have forgotten it. It's very commercialised, but the cave itself is very impressive despite being gaudily lit with and various plastic models dotted throughout [see below].
Picture
Picture
A water assault course, a half-size digger to play on, a cave train and a 0.8km slide to get down the mountain - JD had a blast. Nice day.
1 Comment

Powerpoin tea

22/9/2017

0 Comments

 
This afternoon I had to give a demonstration class to some senior teachers at the University in preparation for the visit of experts from the Ministry of Education in Beijing in a fortnight. Every teacher has had to. I was told four teachers would watch my class - eight turned up. I was told to be ready at 2pm - I finally got the go-ahead at 3.15pm. The main feedback was that I should use Powerpoint more and give more of a lecture. I politely pointed out that my role is to get the students speaking - in pairs, groups and as individuals - not to give lectures. They said they understood and that was fine normally, but that the Beijing "education experts" like to see Powerpoint-led talks. So I need to fake a poor, inappropriate lesson rather than do my normal interesting and interactive lesson. Very Chinese!
Picture
Afterwards, I just managed to catch the end of a Welcome Meeting for new teachers to the University which included a tea ceremony [see above]. As I enter my third year at YUFE, I find myself one of the old-timers. It only seems like yesterday I was being welcomed myself.
0 Comments

Flying the flag

20/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
It continues to amaze me just how popular the British flag is in China. You see it everywhere - clothes, electric bikes, notebooks, bags, stickers, etc. Not only is it more prominent than, say, the American or Russian flags, but you see it more than the Chinese flag too. Some say it's because the shape is the same as the Chinese character for "rice". Others say it's just a cool and interesting pattern. Certainly the UK is as popular a foreign country as any, despite our historical double-dealing with the Chinese.

0 Comments

There is one...

18/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Yes, perhaps one suggsestion springs to mind....
0 Comments

Snap up a bargain

16/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Most Chinese supermarkets have a depressingly similar range of foodstuffs and you have to travel to a select one or two to get anything slightly more western, or unusual. This supermarket surpassed itself however! Croc meat for sale, with frozen head to prove the source!
0 Comments

Last Latt?

14/9/2017

0 Comments

 
The 17th and latest Lattitude training course was something of a mess. Whereas we used to get 15-20 volunteers, this time there were only 4. One arrived a day late to get a cheaper flight and two had their visa applications rejected and arrived a week late after resubmitting them.
Picture
The usual 8-day course was therefore squeezed into 6 days for the first pair and 4 days for the second. Locked classrooms, misplaced resources, botched photocopying and having key personnel missing led to some very patchy training and more than once I was quite embarrassed about the low quality and lack of professionalism. All in all, I think this may be my last course - possibly one more by way of a handover - the timing has always been frustrating (coinciding with JD's first week at school, my first week at University and one of Jiajia's busiest fashion periods), the pay is fairly trivial and the volunteer numbers are dropping off fast. I've enjoyed the 10-year run very much, but I feel the end is in sight.
0 Comments

Mocking the smocking

12/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
...because smocking can
lead to ccanccer!

0 Comments

It's a boat time

10/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Teacher's Day here meant a last minute instruction to parents to pick up their child from Kindergarten at noon yesterday so that the teachers could have some fun together for the rest of the day. Never mind that I'm also a teacher and I lose MY afternoon off as a consequence. With the virtually non-stop rain continuing (6 weeks and counting now - rainbows yesterday!) JD and I spent a few hours making an aircraft carrier out of large DUPLO Lego and then various planes, helicopter and smaller ships out of normal sized Lego.
Picture
Double rainbow over my University.
0 Comments

A load of old...

8/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
One thing I like about JD is his increasing willingness to chat to strangers. When he asks me a question about why somebody is doing something I usually say, go ask them, So yesterday, as we walked past a street cobbler, JD asked what he was doing. "Go ask him", I said. So he did. The cobbler motioned for him to sit down and they proceeded to have a lovely little chat in Chinese for 2-3 minutes. I think they both rather enjoyed it, too.
0 Comments

Write off

6/9/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Seen on the side of a car, yesterday...
1 Comment

Market my words

4/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
It was especially busy at the local wet market yesterday, Sunday morning. They do have a modern supermarket upstairs but most folk seem to prefer the touchy-feely, frantic bargaining of the more traditional market on the ground floor. JD spotted a cheap fried potato snack and is seen here tucking into it.


0 Comments

Odd affair

2/9/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Our hotel caters for everything it seems.
I'm keeping an eye on the wife!

1 Comment

Pic of the day

1/9/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Not sure who Tim is, but ....errr... nice picture JD!
1 Comment
    paul hider

    Author

    Paul Hider lives and works in Kunming (SW China) and regularly updates this blog about his life there.

    Past blog entries

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009

    Tags

    All
    April Fool
    Basketball
    Birthday
    Blog
    CAL
    Car
    Cataract
    Cemetery
    China
    Chinglish
    Chippenham
    ChongQing
    Christmas
    Competition
    Construction
    Cooking
    Cop15
    Countryside
    COVID
    Dali
    Dancing Lady
    Dave & Esme
    Den
    Dentist
    Disaster
    DnD
    Dorta
    Druncle
    Earthquake
    Ebike
    Education
    Everton
    Exams
    Exercise
    Family
    Film
    Fishing
    Flashback
    Food
    Forest
    Fossils
    Friends
    Furniture
    Games
    Gardening
    Geese
    Gym
    Halloween
    Hamsters
    Health
    Heijing
    Holiday
    Home
    Homework
    IELTS
    IKEA
    Illusion
    JD
    Jiajia
    Kindergarten
    Kunming
    Language
    Laos
    Lattitude
    Leaf
    Lego
    Lexulous
    London
    Ma
    Mandarin
    Merton
    Minority
    Molly
    Mountain
    Movie
    Museum
    Nancy & Family
    Nanny
    Neighbourhood
    New Flat
    Olympics
    Painting
    Parents
    Park
    Party
    Paul & Crystal
    Pets
    Podcast
    Police
    Pregnancy
    Primary School
    Private Tuition
    Random Travel
    Relatives
    Renovation
    R.I.P.
    R.S.L.
    Running
    Schools
    Shenzhen
    Shopping
    Ski
    Sport
    Spring Festival
    Sri Lanka
    Swimming
    Temple
    TESOL
    Thailand
    Theme Park
    Traffic
    Training
    Transport
    Travel
    TV
    UFO
    UK
    University
    Vietnam
    Violence
    Visit
    VSO
    Water
    Weather
    Wedding
    Wildlife
    World Cup
    Xishuangbanna
    YUFE
    Yunnan
    Zoo
    Zoom

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.