Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese National Day fall in the same week this year (the former being linked to moon phases). This means everyone gets an 8-day holiday (minus all the catch-up days before and after). JD is very excited at being off school for so long, especially as it coincides with his half-birthday! The main tradition for Mid-Autumn Festival is eating little round pies, with various sweet or savoury fillings, and gazing at the full moon. We'll spend our holiday in and around Kunming with plans for a fishing trip with friends, spending vouchers at a huge all-you-can-eat buffet, R/C boat racing and a yard sale of JD's unwanted toys.
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“Keeping up appearances at all costs” seems to be ingrained in the culture here and recently the space programme was caught out. Conversations between the Chinese astronauts currently in space and Mission Control were accidentally published online before their rocket even left earth! The publicists claimed it was a “technical glitch” but it appears that even routine communications are scripted for public consumption. Last night I watched President Hu congratulating the astronauts by phone from Mission Control. It seemed like he was reading the questions from an autocue, and the astronaut wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was reading his answers from a file of papers! At one point he even read out the wrong answer. Hu asked, “How did you feel doing the space walk?”, to which the astronaut replied, “Thank you. We can assure you all that we will fulfil our mission”. Hu then continued, “The people of China are very proud of your achievements”. A pause from the astronaut, followed by a sheepish, “Thank you. We can assure you all that we will fulfil our mission”. Ooops! We sometimes forget how lucky we are. At least JD can do his homework inside, away from noise and traffic pollution. But when your parents earn their living selling roadside fruit each evening...
Our local Metro ("Cash 'n Carry") now has a little robot cleaner! The robots are gradually taking over, I tell you!
JD went to the hospital recently with 2-3 warts and verrucas on his foot. The doctor "burned" them off by dabbing them with acid - very painful - and told us to return in a month for another session. Ouch!
This is typical Chinese parking. Drive down the middle of the road, spot some dumplings for sale, and just stop. Nobody can get past you. And the amazing thing is that other drivers just patiently wait for the car to move again, once the driver has bought his snack and wandered back!
JD spent a chunk of his pocket money on a remote-controlled boat last week. We've since been out on two different Kunming lakes trying it out. It's fast and agile (unlike its owner!) and JD loves it so much he's now talking about buying another even bigger/faster one! Never happy.
JD and I popped into a temple last weekend and saw some freshly-painted murals on the walls. Next to a Buddhist fire god breathing flames, were a selection of brave Chinese firemen, extinguishing the fires using the latest technology, including a search-and-rescue dog! Needless to say, JD and I got the giggles and had to leave when the worshippers started casting annoyed glances at us!
When JD's school suddenly ask for proof that all students have studied Communist Party ideology over the holiday(!?) we have to be creative. So, with a little technical wizardry, we were able to hand in a photo of JD "attending an exhibition" about our wonderful leader, Xi JingPing. Just don't ask exactly when/where JD is supposed to have been there!
"Chase" is one of about a dozen private students I teach each week - some at home and some in an office or classroom. The youngest is 7 - the oldest is 62. Now that I now longer work for the University, I have more flexibility to fit these classes in. Also, JD's Primary School have now formally agreed to let him leave after lunch each day to have English (and a bit of Maths) lessons with me each afternoon, to get his written English up to scratch before he starts a UK Secondary school this time next year. Busy! |
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
September 2024
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