Walking in Xifeng

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A bit of a quiet week this week. and so not too much to report. Work has been my main focus. I’ve spent most of the week preparing for a training session that I will do with the Heads of Department on how to run an effective department. It requires quite a lot of research as schools are run quite differently to what I am used to and trying to find out the right information requires the right questions and this can take time. Me not speaking Chinese doesn’t really help either!
Also, every Thursday afternoon I do a workshop with the English Department about British Culture. This week we discussed Food and Drink. Besides teaching them about traditional dishes such as Yorkshire Pudding, Bubble and Squeak, I explained to them about the various mealtimes. They were quite puzzled to learn that British people didn’t eat either rice or noodles for breakfast. When they asked what we eat, I told them about the typical “English Breakfast” and about cereals. There was a look of concern on every face! What is toast they asked!
We are also exploring a bit more of the town and discovering some walks. We always take our camera with us as there are often some great shots. We don’t have to walk for too long to see farming methods that have not changed for maybe a hundred years.
On Monday, we went for a meal with a Chinese friend who we haven’t seen in a while. In order to impress her, Phil and I ordered the food. This is something we couldn’t have done a month or two ago without either getting something we didn’t want or going hungry because they didn’t understand us! Progress!
Sabine

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