HO HO HO Merry Christmas from China!! It’s Christmas Day and I’m sitting on a beach under a palm tree. Jodie and I arrived on Langtau Island yesterday, which is one of the Hong Kong islands. It’s about 25 degrees today so I think it’s fair to say it’s the hottest Christmas I have ever experienced. Every one is walking about in shorts and t-shirts, it’s so surreal. I am also surrounded by mountains and there are lots of scary cows wandering about the streets. Just now there is a little Chinese man walking across the beach with a sack of crabs. He looks a bit like Santa, except he has crabs instead of coal and a dog instead of a reindeer. I’m having one of my Chinese moments where I just sit, look around and ... read more

Today I felt creatively inspired, truly! This morning we were given the choice of visiting the British Council or the 798 Art District. I chose to visit the 798 Art District which is located northeast of central Beijing. The area is known as a “soho-esque” area of Beijing and houses an artistic community. It is every artist’s dream! It is some times dangerous taking me to these sorts of places because I can get too caught up in the clouds. It made me think back to my art college days and where my paint brush could have taken me.……. (although the reality is probably no where!) The area is the site of state-owned factories including Factory 798, which originally produced electronics. In 2002, artists and cultural organisations began to divide, rent out and re-make the factory ... read more

Ni hao followers! The online blog has unfortunately not gone to plan because my precious laptop has broken (Dad, we are going to the shop first thing Saturday morning, ok?). I was quite upset about it, however my room mate said I'm "less boring with out it" haha. In a strange sort of way I'm glad it is gone because I've been able to spend more time out and about. I have been keeping a paper journal to record all my adventures, so don't think you are getting rid of me that easily! I'll upload it online when I am home. I'm sitting on a dodgy computer in the University campus just now. I feel like that woman out "Murder She Wrote" (is that what it was called?) punching down hard on the keys and making ... read more

This afternoon the Scottish University students were invited to a Scottish Ministerial event at Beijing Jiatong University. The event was in connection with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and their involvement with China. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong learning, Fiona Hyslop spoke at the event about strengthening links with China and the Scottish Governments aspirations for future engagement. She announced a new scholarship to encourage more Chinese students to study in the UK and plans for future research. We had the valuable opportunity to meet with Chinese students who will be moving to study in the UK. They were so excited to meet us and extremely friendly. I think I made more Chinese friends in that one afternoon than I have in the past 2 weeks! It was a great opportunity to exchange opinions ... read more

Today’s Chinese class was particularly interesting. In the second half of the lesson we had a discussion about Chinese society with Miss Fong. It was a good opportunity to ask her questions and listen to a personal account of daily life in China. Miss Fong also spoke about her 14 year old daughter and her weekly routine. It basically consists of studying, studying and more studying! She is in class from 8am until 5 pm each weekday. After mealtime she studies from 8pm - 11pm AND attends three school classes on a Saturday. The remainder of the weekend is spent reviewing work and doing homework. Generally speaking: from the age of 3 children attend Kindergarten. They learn to speak English and learn simple Chinese characters - how impressive is that?! Children go to primary school from ... read more