Wow another week has gone by....my students spent last week worrying about their exam results and what their parents would say...the never ending pressure on them is amazing. Most of them are in a state of disbelief after I told them about the long summer holiday that Tasmanian students get....they cannot imagine having so long off school AND not having homework set for the holidays!!!

I have been without a computer since Saturday and felt like I was disconnected from the world...my school computer crashed big time (forget blue screen, we had black screen) and the school have just got me a new one. Only one minor technical challenge.....everything is in Chinese and they can't locate their copy of the English version of MS Office!!! I'm actually managing quite well surprisingly - luckily the icons are the same and sometimes I just have to try and remember which button I click on when its in English!! Haven't deleted anything yet that I didn't want to.......and can save my favourite websites in English... so all in all I think I will survive nicely and might actually start to recognise some of the common Chinese characters!!

In between lessons this week the students have been undergoing their "annual health checks". The health people come and set up "shop" in the courtyard and the students all go along together and get seen......boys and girls together....no privacy here!! I had to take some photos as I could not believe my eyes - what a set-up!!

We have been looking at how Christmas is celebrated in Australia and I must say the students have loved the lesson especially when we get to sing Jingle Bells at the end. Most were too shy to sing to start with but now they are singing with gusto - much to the horror of the classes next door - also I've been wearing my Santa hat and we all laugh at the reactions from people who walk past the classroom and do a double take to check out the crazy lao shi (foreign teacher). I've been getting lots of notes from students wishing me a merry christmas and checking up on my plans to ensure I'm not lonely!!

So to my plans....even though Christmas is not celebrated in China I have a number of events lined up.... Thurday night I'm attending the Baise Normal University Christmas party (after receiving the most beautiful invitation) then the school are taking me out to dinner - followed by KTV (karaoke!!) with my fellow Chinese English teachers on Friday night (Xmas Eve) then on Christmas day I am going out for lunch at the home of 2 expats. They are from America and have lived here for years....I think they have invited several foreign teachers to join them for the day so I'm guessing it will be lots of fun. Not a bad social calendar for a place that does not celebrate the festive season!!

It has been strange...in a nice way.... not being bombarded by Christmas carols etc everywhere I go. In the city some of the shops have put up a tree but most haven't bothered. I did see a nice display outside one of the hotels and took a few photos....the hotel staff came outside and I thought I had done the wrong thing but they were excited that a lao wai (foreigner) had actually stopped to look at their display and wished me a very happy Christmas!! I'm guessing that most of you are now at the stage of just wishing the silly season was gone for another year!!

Anyway I wish you all the very best for the festive season however you are celebrating it. Remember to have fun and if you have been very good I hope Santa comes.
Bye for now. xx