The trip to Hong Kong was nothing if not incredibly HOT (temps in the mid to upper 30's) and incredibly frustrating! First I was told that the train back to Beijijng was completely full until the 20th July but that I could get a cheapish (nothing in HK is actually 'cheap') flight. So I didn't rush the visa through in 24 hours, I gave it 48 hours instead. I was then told that actually the train wasn't full at all, there were plenty of seats, but that there wasn't ...

Arrived in Beijing on Friday and it appears that I am going to be stuck here for some time. Apparently, my visa has expired!! I had no idea it had,Ithought it was good until October, so I've had to apply for a temporary, 10 day visa and leave China in the next 10 days. I then have to apply for a tourist visa when I return. So, very reluctantly, I'm taking the train to Hong Kong next Saturday, having spent all day yesterday chasing around for the cheapest way out ...

For 24 hours last Wednesday's storm prevailed. All night long the rain hammered down and the gigantic game of bowls thundered and crashed overhead, the sky lit and rent by lightening. Wild trains hurtled past on the track beside the school, as though pursued by demons and sleep proved difficult. The gradually flagging force of the storm was revived at dawn. Rain water streamed and cascaded, turning all flat surfaces into lakes and rivers, lashed by the wind and a...

Well, the teaching is coming to an end. I leave in just over a weeks' time! I'll be very sorry to say goodbye to the students. They alone have made the stay in Yongfu, with the mattressless bed,the monochromatic, monastic austerity of Yongfu Experimental Middle School, the bugs and the beasties, tolerable! In the meantime, however, there is the small matter of individually testing approx. 230 students in the next week. I've been told to spend no more than 3 minut...

I'm tired of reading, so thought I'd share some thoughts and observations of China... It's jungle weather here at the moment, hot, steamy and wet but, luckily, I've just discovered that I have an air-conditioner in my room! And it works!! Whatever next...? A hitherto unnoticed sprung mattress...? Well, here's hoping...! The Chinese rarely sit down. They squat on their haunches or perch on ridiculously tiny, low, milkmaid type stools. Their ability t...