Blogs from Benxi, Liaoning, China, Asia - page 2

So if there is anything I hate in China it is the damn mosquitoes that NEVER GO AWAY. There are nights that I literally don't sleep because of the biting and the itching and the buzzing in my ear. I have taken up being a mosquito hunter by day, trying to creep up on them as they rest on my walls. But those suckers are fast! They're smart. Probably from sucking the blood of their fellow smart country dwellers, the Chinese. The first two days I was here, I had 17 bites just on my arms alone. Now, I can't even count. And yes, we got bug spray and mosquito zappers, but nothing seems to ease the situation for long. Because of this reason alone, I cannot wait for it to get cold here. The nights ... read more

I taught a new public school today, which I didn't really like. I didn't get to meet any teachers because I was taken to my classroom and left there all day. Generally, I am escorted to a room by my assistant, a translator, who is with me the entire time I am at the school. Today, I was not given an assistant and had to fend for myself. Usually, it wouldn't be so bad, but my classes were about 70 students who didn't understand a lot of English so they wouldn't listen and talked almost the entire time I was teaching. It was really hard to teach, needless to mention, frustrating. So my first class was ok. At the end of class though, I was rushed by 20 students who wanted my autograph. At first I ... read more

With the new school year in full swing, it has been time for some of my older students to fly their strictly controlled parents’ nest and venture on to the freedom of far-flung university destinations. Being their resident English teacher, such an occasion has two benefits. Firstly I have a reduction in my teaching schedule. Having a manager driven by greed, I’m sure this will only be temporary. Secondly, it also means plenty of invitations to banquet style feasts to celebrate the students’ successes. It’s always an honour to be invited out with a students family, where the industrial size ’Lazy Susan’ is over-flowing with a multitude of dishes. Like a duck being prepared for foie gras the family force feed me until I’m ready to explode. If there are male members of the family present ... read more

Coming from a country famous for its grey skies, dull days and copious amounts of rain, China’s wet season should have been something that, if nothing else, reminded me of home. Although I have experienced wet seasons before, never before have I seen such intensity for so prolonged a period. It’s no surprise that after days and days of virtually continuous torrential precipitation, parts of the province has seen flooding and evacuations. In Benxi, roads have become raging torrents of water. Even school has been cancelled. Extra days off work is sadly about the only positive from such weather. With sewage and drainage systems unable to cope with the extra volume, it has left the sweet aroma of sh*t in the air and sewage in the streets. Trying to navigate the streets without covering your feet ... read more