Blogs from Wuzhou, Guangxi, China, Asia

Greetings from Wuzhou. I bring you this from a gaming room, at great risk to my health, surrounded as I am by chain-smoking 14 year olds. We found little to detain us in Yeng Shou, it being a launch point for tourist trips up to the Li River valley, and those of you who are paying attention will know that we have already idled a few days away up there. We cycled along to Li Pu, stopping off to view "The Big Banyan Tree" as it is unimaginatively, but accurately, named. Indeed, it is big, and old too (more than 2000 years). The branches spread out low and wide, fed and supported by two dozen huge roots reaching down from branches to ground. The town of Li Pu is a youthfull, lively place and, being a ... read more

With the students gone and my job finished Wuzhou still had one more suprise in store for me. The principal called it "propaganda", it seems Chinese people still use this word without any negative connotations. I called it "false advertising". I was taken around to all the neighbouring villages where I gave little "speeches" about the benefits of learning English to awestuck country bumpkins. Since they didnt understand a world I said the principal was free to translate my speeches however he wanted. His entrepreneurialism bordered on deviousness and I suspect he embellished my speeches to fit his own designs and make his school irresistable to the poor ignorant kids. All I know is that LOTS of them signed their names on the enrollment sheets. Travelling to the countryside was an unforgettable experience. It was worth ... read more

Every time I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel it turns out to be a train speeding towards me. I am, of course, talking about my ongoing battle with getting photos uploaded onto my blog. I have won a small victory, the photos are now saved on a computer at the school. The problem that the internet connection at the school is so slow that they will not up load. I can say this with some conviction after 2 hot and frustrating hours of trying. And before you state the obvious, yes I made the files as small as I possibly could without making them look like a magic eye trick. Humph. School is going well, I am slowly learning peoples names and I think I am learning how to make ... read more