Spring is definitely in the air now......flowers are starting to appear, blossom trees starting to bloom and the sun is shining. It was time for me to start some serious sightseeing so I've spent the last few days playing tourist. Headed out from the Uni on Friday with the intention of walking to a nearby park. Along the way I unexpectedly came across the most beautiful scenic area called Wulongtan. I ran into one of my students and she was able to give me the b...

Not a lot to report this week. I am gradually getting into a routine and working out when will be the best time to start my Chinese language lessons etc. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my teaching days and so off I go on our rather colourful school bus on those days. It takes about an hour to get to the other campus and I think what a great opportunity to read and relax......but at the moment I find myself busy watching the daily life of suburbia in Nanjing!! I know ...

Tuesday night I got to meet my postgraduate students for the first time. Most of the students have usual English names but one has the delightful name of "timely rain"!! My role with these students is to have them speaking English fluently and be able to read and understand English nursing literature. The number of students will vary from week to week depending on their work commitments. All of the students are working, studying for their Masters and some are als...

As I promised myself I spent the weekend having a bit of a look around. As it turned out I didn't actually get very far from where I live as there is so much close by. I'm 5 minutes walk from Xinjiekou which is THE main shopping area with HUGE shopping malls and a plethora of underground shops. I'd go into one mall, end up going underground and then resurface in a completely different place!! Too bad if I wanted to be somewhere in particular but it didn't matter ...

What a venture to get to class. I am living in the city but most of my classes are on the other campus in the new suburb....Jiangning University Town!!! This campus has only been open since 2003. Up bright and early to catch the 0650 bus out to the campus which took about an hour....not being a morning person this is going to be my challenging day each week!! I think I might take the cues from other teachers and take my travel pillow and sleep through the trip. ...