I had a few things I needed to send to Europe and several of them were breakable so I stopped on my way to the Post Office and bought a local newspaper for 10p so that I could use it to wrap the items up. I got to the Post Ofice, purchased a strong box… Read More »
We have emerged from the greyness of a Nanjing winter into the sunlit balmy days of spring and all the promises that brings. Today I decided to get the bus over to Xuanwu Lake because I had heard there was a pizza festival there and by 2pm I was hungry and lookig for lunch. A… Read More »
The GAOKAO is here. These three days in June torture 9 million High School students across China. The Gaokao tests the students in all areas of the curriculum. During these three days the whole country slows, building work ceases, air traffic is diverted and traffic quietens down. Well, that’s the idea but the signs outside… Read More »
Everything in China is on another scale, it’s a place of superlatives; the largest population, the biggest migration of people, the oldest history, the fastest growing economy and now, to add to the hundreds of new roads springing up all over the place, a brand new railway station which will act as a hub for… Read More »
A group of men were huddled over something on the pavement all looking down at the ground. I walked over to the group and pushed myself through the crowd to see what was going on. There on the ground was a small straight-sided grey bowl inside which two crickets were chasing each other across hot… Read More »
I am doing 6 hours of oral English in a university each week. Teaching oral English means getting the students to speak in English as much as possible. Trouble is there’s only me in the room and they can’t all speak to me so my plan is to get them out speaking to westerners in… Read More »