Thankyou everyone who has helped give me such a wonderful send-off this last week! I've had a surprise leaving party, goodbye meals, (several) last-nights-out, so many cards, so many lovely presents, so many drinks bought for me and then people coming to my house to wave me down the road when I set off... I couldn't have asked for a better last week, or better friends to share it with! Also thankyou to everyone who helped with my actual fundraising - it feels li...

So it's less than a month until I leave for China now, so I thought it was about time I made the blog I promised and told everyone properly what I'll actually be doing next year! I'm going to China with the organisation Project Trust, an educational charity that sends school leavers to volunteer overseas on their gap year. I'm based in the south-eastern province of Jiangxi, in the city of Jiujiang, and I'll be teaching at Jiujiang Tongwen Middle School. The scho...