Here again for another in depth episode of Sarah's EXCITING travel stories. This week has been terribly interesting; we have observed several classes to get an idea of the standard of English our potential pupils are at. I have spoken to children of 14/15 years of age whose English is fantastic, despite their assurance that they are not very good. I was utterly stunned by their confidence, they came over to us immediately and asked us all sorts of questions, inc...

And so she feels another blog is beckoning, so here it is. Have begun our Mandarin and teaching lessons, which are all going well. I have finally managed to learn a few useful phrases rather than my previous knowledge of 'hello, bus?' Our teachers are all highly enthusiatic, so classes normally consist of singing, dancing, games and general lapses in maturity that make our days that much more exciting. It's all good and is making me yearn to be in a classroom of...

I'm here! Arrived at 8.30pm after hours of sitting on planes, being stared at by the Chinese and often laughed at, especially when one spills water over the passeneger next to one. Well done me. Went to a couple of Chinese style bars/clubs on arrival at the hostel. VERY bizare environment but uberly cool and so totally cheesy - the Eye of the Tiger and Five being popular choices of music! Didn't get to bed till 2am having only slept for a couple of hours on the p...

Hello all, i'm in Dubai! No, no, panic not, I have not caught the wrong plane and become stranded in this alien land! I'm waiting for my connecting flight to Beijing, which isn't boarding until about 2am. Very confused about all of this time difference fandango, according to my watch it's 9.15pm at home; you'll all be lounging around on the sofa watching Eurovision i'm sure, while I frantically type a message to you all at 1.15am form a very crowded internet stan...

Hello all, i'm in Dubai! No, no, panic not, I have not caught the wrong plane and become stranded in this alien land! I'm waiting for my connecting flight to Beijing, which isn't boarding until about 2am. Very confused about all of this time difference fandango, according to my watch it's 9.15pm at home; you'll all be lounging around on the sofa watching Eurovision i'm sure, while I frantically type a message to you all at 1.15am form a very crowded internet stan...