Thomas cried as his mother left the room, 4 year old Lucy sat on a chair too big for her constantly looking at the window to check her grandmother was still here. Sam jumped up and down and Harry practised his kung fu moves with himself. 14 new students between 4-6 years old, with 5 bad monkeys. Their first day was an hour and half class with a 10 minute break. The lesson plan consisted of- ' Hello class - Hello teacher ' ' How are you? - I'm fine thank you ' ...

Thomas cried as his mother left the room, 4 year old Lucy sat on a chair too big for her constantly looking at the window to check her grandmother was still here. Sam jumped up and down and Harry practised his kung fu moves with himself. 14 new students between 4-6 years old, with 5 bad monkeys. Their first day was an hour and half class with a 10 minute break. The lesson plan consisted of- ' Hello class - Hello teacher ' ' How are you? - I'm fine thank you ' ...

Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival) - a public holiday where Chinese people visit the burial grounds or cremation centers of their ancestors. Martys Memorial Gardens was my first stop to pay respect to those fallen ones who defended their country when the Japanese invaded. Grave stones, with a small photo of the solider were surrounded by freshly laid flowers. What looked like a locker room to a swimming pool, with wide drawers from floor to ceiling covered e...

24th August - 30th August 2011Checklist:Ate smelly tofu - Fermented tofuClimbed a pagodaCelebrate my 20th birthday in CHINAWelcomed my mum to SongjiangMum arrived and left in a blink of an eye. 6 days crammed packed. Many adventures, late nights, much mischief and early mornings.Although we did a lot, we didn't do everything and I'm excited to still be able to show mum new places in December when she returns to Shanghai with dad.Before the midnight strike we cele...