Blogs from Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China, Asia - page 7

Photos: …..Max (Gizmo) from class ten, certainly the best English speaker in Grade three, gets a negative score, normally dished out only for talking out of turn (or worse) in class. In this case he gets an answer wrong, confusing “before” & “after”, (“Thursday is before Wednesday”). Normally I just pass the question to the next team but not before docking ten points for Max's clearly audible, “Oh, shit!” Opinion among foreign teachers is divided on whether I should give him extra points for new vocabulary...... …..Thursday, November eleventh is Armistice day in those countries that participated in the First World War. Here in China, & maybe elsewhere, it is Singles Day, 11/11. Yet another special day I have never heard of before..... …..accident at the junction next to the Da Run Fa, a motor-trike knocked ... read more

Photos: You can click the photos in this blog to enlarge them to full screen size. ….....Halloween is big at this school at least. I can only put it down to the influence of a succession of American teachers. The kids get excited about it so lesson plans for this week revolve around frightening, gory & nasty things. The appeal is universal. I finally manage to find a mask at the Qu Jiang. Having been told to look there by Susan, the Chinese English teacher who sits next to me in the office, I am surprised to find it it is well known Blue Market. Obviously not what the locals call it. The mask is not as realistic as what I have in mind but, at ¥25, or about Au$4, it will do the job. Mike ... read more

Photos: Photos from the National Day Holiday: …..with a contingent of a dozen or so Chinese teachers I am on the school bus on the way to a restaurant, no one seems to know exactly where, to celebrate Suzy's wedding. Roger, a Chinese English teacher who speaks very good English, & I have guitar cases & I am also carrying a bedspread, my wedding gift. It appears the most usual thing in China is to give the couple one of those heavily ornamented red envelopes with some money inside. I'm a foreigner so I'm sure they'll excuse me..... …..we end up at yet another of Yangzhou's thousands of restaurants, a brightly neon lit affair in a street south of the city centre I haven't seen before. We are met at the door by a young man ... read more

Photos: …..the days are still hot & as sticky as, (in Australian English there is no need to specify, “as sticky as what?”). A few evenings have been perceptibly cooler, only by a small amount but it's a relief. I have taken to hand washing the morning's shirt & underpants while having a shower at lunchtime, to prevent an unmanageable buildup of washing..... …..the kid who spat on the floor during class didn't appear overjoyed to be told to get the mop & wipe the floor. Had he caught me in a less amenable mood he might have been upended & his hair employed to do the same job..... …..I have one or two students this year who are, I believe the correct current term is, “remedial”. One is virtually uncommunicative at any level & spends ... read more

Photos: …..I am trying to learn the names of another crop of students. I didn't do at all well last year & there were a number of average students whose names never quite made it to my memory bank. Already some have, the bright & lively ones like Max, Garrett & Evan, ones with distinctive or odd features, like Dabe, Chet or Nick. The girl next to Nick is called Nikki, so I can remember her name too, though sadly not the face yet. The ratbags. They can remain anonymous for the time being. The occasional chubby kid stands out, Noah, Jessica. As for Ranker, Darek, Blade & See - well, they are names to remember. They all enjoy talking but sadly not in English..... ….I have dinner with new teachers Mike & George also Xi ... read more