I've taught my last lesson for the day and am looking forward to having 5 days off. Tomorrow is National Day in China and we get a holiday to celebrate.....i have said that the Chinese love to celebrate any and all occasions!! Unfortunately we were not told till this week that we had 5 days off....apparently it can be anywhere from 3-10 days off depending on the school district....very strange way of deciding holidays and of course its done in "China" time!!

All my students are very excited as they get to go home and spend time with their families. Some students who live far away don't get home very often so this is an extra special time for them. Families are very important to the Chinese people and for many are central to everything they do in life.

The students haave been busy decorating all the various blackboards around the school grounds in preparation for National Day and I've included a few pictures to give you an idea of the detail they put into their artwork.

I wont be travelling anywhere for the 5 days - it is virtually impossible to get transport to major areas as so many people are trying to get home/move around. Some of our group are meeting up in Xi'an but it was a 32 hour train trip for me each way and given the late notice there are no sleepers left even if I wanted to go!! No way am I taking standing room for that length of time but apparently many do!!

I will use the time to see more of Baise City and surrounding areas on the local buses....should be quite an adventure with my limited Chinese..could end up anywhere!!!

Bye for now.