I sit now, less than a week left to go in Wenchang, unable to conceive the sheer difficulty of saying goodbye to all these amazing people and this lovely place. In a matter of days, my experiences on this island will be a collection of memories and photographs....

...I shall not dwell on the sadness though and more on the utter chaos that life has become. At the weekend, we began the first of our farewells, going to tea with two of the older, more fluent English students from across the road, Luis and Rex. Over our time here they have become good, although slightly odd, friends, who will, despite all the awkwardness of our meetings, be greatly missed. As we sipped our steaming glasses of lu cha, they wrote us some chinese poetry and it was all fairly emotional. We said "see you later" to cushion the blow of potentially never meeting them again.

On Sunday, we returned to LongLou, Caca's home, with our neighbours. It was dragon boat festival, so Wenchang was swarming with tourists, awaiting the boat race. We though, wanted to visit our second home, where our second family were eagerly awaiting our arrival. Caca's family graced us with the usual warmth and love, beaming smiles and hugs all round as we walked in the door. It was lovely to be back.

That morning, we visited our neighbours' home, walking through paddy fields, paddling through rivers, listening to mooing cows, cooing and adorable babies, meeting the family and munching on exciting, native fruit. Lunchtime came around and we returned to Caca's for lunch, another feast, before going to the "Stone Park". The sun shone down, as all of us blissfully rode on motorbikes to said stunning beach. Sadly, the bliss was shattered when, on riding down a track, the bike I happened to be on hit a pot hole and toppolled over, me flying onto Caca's little sister. We were all fine, not even a tiny bit of blood was shed and we continued on our merry way.

The park was glorious, with many-a-photo captured, we went on to Moon Bay, another beautiful beach with white sands and clear, blue waters. The time to leave sadly dawned upon us, we were devestated to say farewell to them all again, this time being the last before we depart, but were happy with the joys that had filled the entire day.

Our week began with two days off, as my students took their major exams. I ran around the house like a headless chicken, frantically looking at my watch and gazing from my balcony as they all marched out of the exam hall. I think I managed to drive not only myself, but Zoe, completely insane.

School again and, as the week drew to a close, we pondered the venets to come. On Thursday, Caca's younger brother came to Wenchang as a surprise and took us all to tea. We then arranged our final trip to LongLou, planning to leave that evening at 10pm after Caca's class, so we could all collect crabs together on the beach.
So, I was cycling home from the tea house, in somewhat of a hurry, and must have skidded because I suddenly was no longer on my bike but on the ground with a group of Chinese locals surrounding me. I stood up and managed to fall over again, head spinning. Zoe rushed to the rescue; Caca's brother had witnessed the fall and motorbiked to our home, where Zoe had just arrived, and rushed her to my side. We contacted our coordinator, Selina, as I had cut my head, among other body parts. I was then whisked by motorbike to the school clinic where I met Selina and her boyfriend, the pair having left their dinner early to check I was ok. Caca's brother wanted his sister to be by my side, so she was taken out of her class to see me. The school doctor felt that, as I had a head wound, the hospital was necessary.
Mr Zhang, the "leader" was telephoned and arrived, having left a very important meeting, turning up in the school van with the school driver. The headmaster and vice principal were also contacted and were, as a result, making their way to the hospital. So, me, Zoe, my student, Selina, her boyfriend, Caca's brother, Mr Zhang and the driver went to the hospital. I had various concoctions spread on my wounds, being seated in a room with blood stained sheets and bins overflowing with bloody waste. The doctor decided I needed a CT scan, which I believe may have cost 700 Yuan - around 50 quid - that Mr Zhang has payed for. I will be insisting on returning this money to him. Anyway, the results of the scan were all clear, just a great deal of swelling, but nothing serious. As we readied ourselves to leave, the doctor asked for my number, saying that he had two daughters who would love to practice their English and that he was not married. Ooo-er, you don't get THAT kind of treatment in England!
I was driven back to school, massive party of people in tow, where the vice principal greeted me and offered to pay the hospital fee if I felt an overnight stay were necessary. Apart from bright orange cuts, a very sore, swollen knee and bad headache, I felt ok, so my home would suffice.
However, we did then go to LongLou, caught a load of crabs on the beach and stayed up till 3am eating them and chatting to her family...Had to get up at 5.30am today, having had no sleep, Caca needing to be in school for 7am. I slept this morning, after washing blood from my hair and tending to my wounds. Now, I have a pounding headache, sleep making this worse as I have to sleep on the two tiny cuts that have managed to swell-up and i'm limping because of the impressive cut/bruise/orange iodine treated graze on my left knee. I got looked at on the street before, now I get gazes of utter horror.
And that is the result of a chaotic week. Only one left in Wenchang now...