Heading off into the great unknown but full of excitement mixed in with a bit of trepidation...The bus trip was OK I got a sleeper seat for the long trip to Nanning (about 6 hours)- bit scary changing buses in Nanning where nothing was in English and I was the only westerner in the whole place. Anyway I found a nice little man who piled my luggage onto his trolley and took it to the bus and even put it on the bus for me. Think I gave him a weeks wages but it was worth every kwai. Bus to Baise City took about another 3 hours....

Arrived in Baise City at about 5pm and picked up by the Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO). We went directly to the school and my apartment where I found out I have FOUR FAOs!! They took great pride showing me round the apartment and were full of smiles. I got 1/2 hour to get ready for dinner. It turned out to be a private dinner with the senior FAO and all his family. I was clearly the guest of honour according to the seating plan . We went to a very nice restaurant where they had booked out a private room for our party. Lots of cheers with beer and the most scrumptious meal.

Had Monday off to settle in. My apartment was in good order- new mattress and bed linen (no Tara, not ghastly green!!), internet up and running, phone working, hot water etc. Only problem was the filth thanks to the previous tenant whose mother clearly did not teach him anything about cleaning!!!! (Note to Matt: you know better!!) The school did have a cleaning lady come in but they got ripped off big time....she did a very superficial clean and must have used a can of air-freshner to make it smell nice. Nothing a few bottles of bleach haven't fixed!!!

Anyway my apartment is very nice- 2 bedrooms, study, large lounge area, large kitchen (not that it will get much use!) and the usual tiny asian bathroom. I also have a small balcony but its too hot to sit out there atm. I have got 3 air conditioners that all seem to be preset on some random temperature but its OK in the heat- daily temperatures are in the high 30'sC.

The school is huge and they are still expanding so some areas you feel like being in the middle of a construction site. Apparently the works are to be completed in about 8 weeks but I wonder if that is wishful thinking given how China time works. The school has 4000 students (not 2500 as was described to me) which was a bit of a surprise. Most classes have 60-70 students.

Tuesday was my first official day and we started with some ceremony at 0730....couldn't understand what was said but gathered it was to welcome new students and give out recognition awards to other students. The Principal (who I met 5 minutes earlier) then introduced me to the school and I had to stand up looking at 4000 faces....daunting to say the least. I am teaching Senior 1 and Senior 2 students and have 16 classes one week and 22 classes the next...seems that I get a long weekend every second week which will be great if they dont start changing my schedule!! My class schedule for this week has been good, I've had Senior 2 this week and so far have taught 12 classes out of 16. Next week I will have Senior 1 but they haven't sorted out the schedule for that yet. Has positive feedback from the senior FAO last night who rang me to say that the students thought I was a very experienced teacher who they could learn a lot from.....high praise after 1 lesson each. First classes start at 0740 and last classes finish at 1715 so its a long day for the students. Not too fond of the 0740 starts but only 2 this week so will have to see what Senior 1 brings.

Being the only foreign teacher I am a bit of a "superstar" at present and almost get mobbed every time I leave my apartment.......at least its not papperazzi hding behind bushes. Also having 4 FAOs means that anything I ask for gets attended to quickly at least for now. We seem to be a fair way out of the city but due to building works outside the school we have to travel the long way. I'm told there is a bus into the city from our back gate....I just haven't found the back gate yet!!! No doubt some students will help me.