Aaarrghhh... I have just woken up from the most horrible night's sleep!!! I had a reasonably early night but woke at about two in the morning to really loud whirring sounds. For some completely unknown reason, I had it in my mind that the noises were coming from my two machines outside. "Two machines outside?", I hear you cry... Well... Exactly!!! However, at this point I hadn't figured out that I don't have any 'machines', so begrudgingly I got semi-dressed, found my keys, and wandered outside to solve the problem... Only to wake up and realise what an absolute idiot I was being! Sleep walking when you are on your own in a new country is such a BAD IDEA! Thank goodness I was sensible enough whilst asleep to remember my keys! But as if that wasn't enough...?!? I then awoke again at about four in the morning with a start. I was terrified to see the dark outline of a man sitting cross legged on my desk. I was panicking, but politely asked the man what he was doing in my room and asked him to leave. It was at this point that I realised that I was talking to my rucksack, which I had cleverly positioned on my desk for the night. Oh dear! I'm guessing that these weird dreams mean that I'm not so calm about all of this after all. I wish my fears would show themselves in a slightly more normal / less psychotic (delete as appropriate) way though... I'm not sure that nightmares and sleep walking are all that productive. However, I am now continuing this entry from a pub-style eatery in downtown Nanjing where I will try to summarise my time here so far. I spent a couple of days in Shanghai, where I got to see some real life Shanghai but didn't do any of the tourist sights. I spent time with some Shanghainese people, ate real Shanghainese food and drank Chinese beer. So, a pretty good start really. People here seem to sleep on bamboo mats because of the heat, which are surprisingly comfortable but not very practical if you sleep on your front. You wake up with deep ridges all over your face. Not very attractive... And they take hours to go away properly! I then took the three hour train journey with the wife of the owner of the school I will be working in. I have read many comments about how easy it is to travel by train in China. I question this view! I was extremely pleased to have someone with me for the first journey. It all seemed very complicated, especially if you don't speak Chinese. The three hour journey was fascinating for so many reasons. Firstly, the scenery was so variable; taking in rivers, rice paddies, cityscapes, tiny ramshackle villages and mountains. And secondly, because my fellow passengers were so intigued by me. Their curiosity at seeing a foreigner was something I had read about but still wasn't prepared for. I have never been stared at, poked, and greeted with 'hello' so many times in my life! From arriving in Nanjing to visiting the school for the first time is one big blur of hurrying around, catching taxis, walking down overcrowded streets, visiting my apartment, and trying not to get lost or left behind, all whilst carrying my massive backpack.. At the school, reality truly hit me. I have never been so terrified! I was asked about my teaching experience (as it seems Mr George lied to them somewhat) and was told that the last teacher had twenty five years of teaching experience and was very much loved. Well... How do I live up to that? There's nothing like a bit of pressure!!! The headteacher (business person as opposed to teacher actually) explained what books I would be using (well... Threw them in my direction) and I think he just expected me to get on with it and know exactly what to do. If I hadn't asked where the children had got to in the books, what time the lessons were, how many children I would be teaching etc, he wouldn't have offered the information. Very strange! We went for 'supper' just around the corner, half way between my apartment and the school. I felt completely lost sitting around a table in such a formal way to eat. I still don't understand Chinese table etiquette, but I think I did pretty well, even with my chopsticks, and everyone was very encouraging (whilst laughing at me). I discovered that I like Chinese green tea a lot and that there is a surprising lack of ritual surrounding it in every day life. In fact, there are more rituals involved in making PG Tips style tea within Letraset's 'tea circle' than there is with green tea in China! There also appeared to be very little worry about etiquette when eating. You just dive in with your chopsticks to whatever dish takes your fancy. My host very kindly (if slightly embarrassingly) requested some cutlery for me, which I refused to use. I battled on with the chopsticks and I believe I won. The same night I visited the local supermarket and was shocked at the goods you can buy. Pig's ears, chicken's feet, and fish guts will never be appearing on my shopping list. Sorry! So here I am now, in a type of pub, being a bit of a wimp. I have walked past hundreds of worthy Chinese places to eat, and I do plan to eat in all of these places, honestly, but it is my first week and I am already so far out of my comfort-zone that I don't think that one pub is cheating. Plus, it is still only Chinese speaking, it is filled with Nanjingers, I am drinking Yao Duan Zhui beer and have ordered something Chinese and completely random off the menu. Well... As I wrote that last sentence my food arrived, and I am none-the-wiser with regards to what I actually ordered and what I have just eaten?!? Do fish have intestines? I'm not sure they do... But if they do, that's what I just ate. Stringy fish insides reconstituted into little squares. Surprisingly nice though! Anyway, the food worked out at about two quid and the beers were about eighty pence each. So a night out for less than a fiver, not bad! What else do I have to tell?... I reluctantly taught my first lesson. I had been 'reliably informed' that I should start on page twenty of the books, and had spent hours planning the class, but when I arrived I was told that they were actually on page thirty two, so had to teach that lesson, with no notes... NOW! I had no idea what I was doing, but got stuck in and I think it went well. I have now taught four classes, each one and a half hours long, and it all seems to be going well. Lots of drawing and 'heads, shoulders, knees and toes'... Happy days! My apartment is lovely. It has wooden floors, a huge TV, a DVD player, a double bedroom and a desk with a computer, so everything I need really. It is let down slightly by the bathroom and kitchen but I have always found that to be true outside of Europe... I can't complain. I'm just being a fussy Brit! I'll never understand why 'they' can put a man on the moon but can't build drains able to deal with toilet paper.