Apologies once again that I am so behind with this blog. I think that the fact that it has been a couple of weeks since I have updated is evidence of how great New Zealand is, and also partly how expensive internet access is! I am currently in Franz Josef, which is a small town in the South Island, a base for activities on the massive glacier, which tomorrow I will be doing a full day hike of. I'm a bit nervous about this what with my terrible fitness levels, bu...

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated this, I kept hanging on as I was hoping to add photos at the same time but I've had a lot of trouble getting that sorted so I think I'm just going to have to wait and paint you a picture in words instead [insert alternative cliche of choice here]. So I've now reached New Zealand and it feels a little strange to be in a country so similar to home; I can't believe I can actually communicate with people (albeit people w...

A really quick update today as my time at the internet cafe is running out after frittering it away with my rediscovery of facebook! I arrived in Osaka today after a two day ferry journey from Shanghai, which was pretty comfortable but a bit boring. Since I last wrote I visited an incredible, but also incredibly touristy, canal town before heading to Shanghai. Shanghai was my favourite city that I visited in China, it was a great mixture of Western and Chinese. W...

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated - at the end of the project there was very little I did which I hadn't written about before and then since I've started the tour it's been difficult to get internet access. I think it will be a couple of weeks until I can upload photos; hopefully I will be able to in New Zealand. After spending six hours in Xi'An airport on Saturday (excellent fun), I arrived in Beijing in the late evening. Having my own hotel room with...

Today I used a squat toilet for the first time since I got here, possibly for the first time in my life. I'm not sure if that, or teaching 180 eleven and twelve year olds, was the most challenging part of my day. I've been in China three weeks now and only have one week of my project left. I left the village last week having squeezed in the important final activities of climbing the mountain (I know, right! Not very Sophie) and feeding a panda (didn't quite ove...