Blogs from Wuhan, Hubei, China, Asia - page 15

The school year is officially over as of last Friday and most people have headed back to Canada for the holidays. We are sticking around for a couple more weeks and heading out on July 19. It has been a busy month since my last entry with exams, end-of-year parties, hospital stays, and moving days. The weather has been incredible for a long time. Other than a few thunderstorms, it has been in the 30s for as long as I can remember. On a good note, I get my new CJ750 motorcycle on Sunday...on a bad note, Nancy was released from the hospital last week after being in for a week with pneumonia. I am down to the last English novel I have in the house, a copy of Gone With the Wind that I picked ... read more

More incredible food, beautiful weather, and vintage motorcycles…..it all added up to a great fun-filled Saturday as Nancy and I were introduced to the world of Chang Jiang 750cc sidecar motorcycles. Since we moved here, I have been checking out these things on the internet as a potential move to a bigger bike but did not think they could be licensed/registered in Wuhan. The city passed laws in the late 90s that prevent the licensing of larger motorcycles. However, I have since found out from my new-found friends/dealers/restorers that they can be registered and licensed though a nearby town and then are legal to ride here. These bikes have a long history () and are basically 1938 technology! Today, they have a cult following inside China and around the world and the sky’s the limit as ... read more

Another year, another English Arts Festival! For the past couple of weeks, Maple Leaf has been treated to the talents of our growing student population as they competed in various categories of the school's English Arts Festival. Whether it be singing, short skits, poetry reading, or poster contests, everybody was given the opportunity to show the rest of us how well they are learning the English language by participating in this festival. The grand finale was the production of this year's musical theatre production, Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum. It never ceases to amaze me how these kids can progress from barely speaking English two or three years ago to a point where they can memorize this many lines in a second language, as well as act and sing their hearts out. Most of those who participated ... read more

Well, I’ve been bad about updating this. My things have settled into a lovely routine. My life still revolves around my classes, and my free time is incredibly limited, but I don’t consider that to be a bad thing. I’m more or less ridiculously happy, except for when I’m sick (which is far too often. The air here does nasty things to my throat and lungs.). For a long time I was trying to make the decision to either stay in Wuhan, or seek out a healthier Chinese city. Today I finally made up my mind to stay, and talked to my boss about it. I’ll be able to keep the same kids next year, and do the same thing I’m doing now, and I’ll get a raise of 500 yuan a month. My place here ... read more

First, I must apologize to all of you at home who are NOT on Facebook, and who have not been updated about our lives for a few months now. The last two months have been rather insane, both in our professional lives (the school in which we teach) and our personal lives. Due to the rather sensitive nature of the issues, I won't get into what has happened in our personal lives, but if you feel you can offer up any prayers, we'd sure appreciate it. I will do my best to update you on the last two and a half months. The day after we changed apartments, we headed back to Beijing, and spent two weeks there. It was really nice, we had time to see things that normal tourists don't, and Chris really enjoyed ... read more