 The family of one of JD's friends invited us all to their new house in ChengGong - a University satellite town of Kunming - to celebrate May Day. We got a lift there by car (it's 20km away) and then JD had fun playing with his friends with pellet guns inside the apartment and fishing outside. They cooked up a nice meal and, fairly late, we returned home by subway - an hour-long trip costing 5RMB (50p).   With exams next week, followed by May Day week holiday, last week was the best time for JD's class to have their 6-monthly photo.
JD was learning about silkworms at school a couple of weeks ago and the teacher encouraged the children to buy a few, feed them on mulberry leaves and watch them spin their cocoons...  So JD bought half a dozen worms at a nearby toy shop, but then swapped a couple of them with another students for 30+ eggs. Last week, the eggs hatched... So now we appear to be responsible for a huge number of silkworms, munching their way through treefuls of leaves but showing no sign of pupating. Nightmare!
I woke JD up an hour early yesterday and got him dressed and ready for school before pointing out it was April Fool's Day! Still, he quite enjoyed the unexpected hour, playing with his Lego.  This is JD's latest Lego build: a Star Wars Rebel Bomber spaceship.
JD celebrated his birthday this weekend. His favourite present was a second-hand typewriter - something he's been wanting for months.
For his party we met up with five of his friends and their families for a vegetarian buffet in a quaint restaurant overlooking LianHua Lake. This was followed by two birthday cakes, the opening of presents and an hour sailing (and ramming!) a small flotilla of electric boats on the lake. It was a really fun time for all.  JD's first typed "poem"!? During odd five minute-breaks at home, in between his daily 3-4 hours of homework, JD has been gradually building an airport in his bedroom using Dupo Lego, toy cars/planes/tanks/etc and furniture legs!  Although it looks fairly random, he has a long back-story and can spend ages explaining to you how each part of the airport works and why everything is in its rightful place. Untidy, but imaginative!
 JD can read/write over 2000 Chinese characters these days.
JD's current dream career is to be a civil pilot. So it was with great enthusiasm that he attended a half-day "training course" in avionics, courtesy of one of Jiajia's VIP bank accounts. He had safety lectures (including trying on a life jacket and an inflatable slide), made a wooden fighter jet, won a toy glider and - his favourite - helped fly a passenger jet in a professional simulator! He was so excited!
Kunming is known as the "Spring City" with temperate weather all year. round. As such, snowfall is a once-in-a-decade surprise.  But yesterday, as I battled to work on my e-bike, Jiajia and JD were out enjoying the white stuff - snowball fights and a snowman.
JD hasn't really seen snow in Kunming before and I haven't seen this much in all my 15 years here. It's due to start disappearing today, although the unusually cold temperatures (-2ºC) will be here for a few more days yet. JD had a check-up, an x-ray and a deep clean the other day. The dentist thinks he may need a simple brace in time to allow room for his canine teeth to come through. 
 I teach five private lessons each week, 90 minutes each - some to kids, some to adults. One of these is to a young couple, in their home. Last week JD joined me as they had cooked dinner for us and invited JD to play with their 4-year old son, called Paipai (pronounced "pie-pie"). JD had a sort-out of his bedroom beforehand and brought a bag of unwanted "baby toys" to pass on. The dinner was a tasty mix of Western and Chinese food and the lesson afterwards went well.
One of JD's Christmas presents from me was a jar full of 300 slips of paper, each one containing a statement about him. He pulls one out each morning and reads it aloud.  About 90% of the slips have something positive and encouraging ("JD, you make friends easily" or "JD, you can ride a bike pretty fast") while the others are less so ("JD, you don't know your 12 times table" or "JD, your feet are stinky"). Something to enjoy throughout the year!!
 JD and Jiajia had a craft afternoon the other day.
This was a mosaic coaster made by JD.
After watching a recent Star Wars TV episode, JD suddenly decided to identify as a Tusken Raider!
JD was awarded a special Certificate at school this week. He had been asked by his teacher to enter a National Art competition about a month ago (celebrating the COP-15 Conference held in Kunming last year) and we were all pretty stunned to hear he came top in Yunnan Province and second out of all China!
Admittedly there was a bit of parental help in thinking up the idea and drawing some of the creatures, but that's pretty normal in China, and JD coloured in most of it. So we were all chuffed and JD's Primary School teacher apparently gained a lot of kudos.
 JD's mixed heritage seems to lead to some very odd food preferences. He likes Brussel sprouts with his chicken's feet, salt with his pineapple chunks, and ice-cream with pepper. But his latest favourite breakfast - croissants with sweet pickle - is truly disturbing!
 JD finishes a three day course of IV drips today. After a fever earlier this week, we took him to hospital for a blood test. That indicated a very elevated white cell count, and the doctor strongly advised an intravenous antibiotic drip. JD has been in fairly good spirits since then, mostly at the thought of three days off school. We are hoping he will be OK to return to his class tomorrow as he has important end-of-term exams next week.
JD's Primary School is in a road full of Gingko trees. Their leaves are quite something at this time of year. JD believes the oncoming car in this photo is floating!   JD is enjoying his "Advent Calendar train" - he opens one carriage a day, each containing a small toy.
JD and I hiked up to MiaoGao Temple the other day. Good exercise, fresh air and a cheap vegetarian lunch with the monks.
 JD's class came top of the ten classes in his year in a tug-of-war competition this week. Being the fattest in the class, JD anchored the back of the line and was thrilled at the victory.
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 AuthorPaul Hider lives and works in Kunming (SW China) and regularly updates this blog about his life there. Past blog entries
May 2022
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