Wugongshan Hotel Pingxiang

... If you can't guess what that means then forget about it. So, i have taken some very beautiful head shots of the guys that did it. Roman and Pat are missing. Roman wasn't there until later and Pat was being difficult. Thanks for rounding up the other guys, Luke!!

Besides drinking and staying up all night, there is nothing much to report. See for yourself....

... Kysymykset olivat "Mitä pidät Kiinasta?" -tyyppisiä. Oppilaat olivat suloisia ja vähän ujoja, mutta hyvin eloisia ja äänekkäitä myöskin.

Koulu oli julkinen ja se näkyi luokkakoossa: Erikalla oli keskimäärin 50-60 oppilasta samassa luokassa. Kiinassa on suuri tarve englannin opettajista ja töitä löytäisi täältä helposti. Palkka ei tosin ole hääppöinen, mutta palkkaaan kuuluu oma asunto ja ja ...

Another night train and another mystery guest in our 4 birth cabin.

Helen and I secure the bottom bunks, a bit of a change to the Trans-Siberian where we preferred the top. The Russian's really use the space below and sit, watch tv, play cards and chat. Where as the Chinese seem to lay horizontal and sleep at every opportunity ...

... game tomorrow. She is an English major, a senior and very talented.

I was able to watch Zhong Bin and Le Tian, today. They are both non- English major juniors and they are very bright.

Le Tian got second prize with 8 other students and Zhong Bin got third prize with 10 other students. This was out of 60 non-English major ...

I have finally returned from a well needed break. The last nine days, I have been in Changsha and Shanghai. I went to Changsha for two nights and then Shanghai for seven. It has been a good adventure.

I went to Changsha to celebrate National Day with all of my fellow teachers. It was a huge day for the PRC and Changsha was wild.

Besides partying with everyone, not much was done.

Here are the few pictures from the nights in Changsha.

... get to the entrance and a lady is very excited about something. I thought that we had to check our bags, so I was trying to set everything down (I am carrying my sweat shirt and our clothes to ship home along with my purse). I wonder out loud why she is freaking out and the English person beside me said that I need to wear pants. I have a skort on and do not have pants with me! I was too indecent to see a frozen dead guy, so Bill went in without me. While I ...

... The people on the train are not used to foreigners, they look very poor and tired and stare at me the whole time. From the train window I can see China gradually beginning to look like Southeast Asia with lots of lush greenery and palm trees. When I get out of the train I don't know what's next, but there's a horde of guys with odd little covered motorized wagons waiting to cart people to the border. I get in ...

... road. (I should mention here that Jen and I bought tickets from CITS, who are SUPPOSED to be legit.) When the bus finally pulled over to pick us up - 30 minutes late - it was full. I don't mean every seat gone full. I mean people sitting in the aisle all the way to the front of the bus full. We didn't have much choice but to take the bus, but I started yelling at the couple workers and driver about the situation. The ...

... from all directions at high speeds! One thing China does love is a good bout of destruction. Precious relics of ancient and imperial dynasties are fast disappearing. Neatly painted "reconstructions" now take their place. The number of sites under UNESCO protection is probably evidence of the worldwide fear of Chinese cultural policy. It is difficult to summarise China without mentioning the food. With the family unit the central focus of daily life, meals are truly ...

... who had no english. My initial fear (as ever skeptical) was that they'd started making out during the night, dave reassured me that i shouldn't worry as the girl was full-on pregnant :) What i found amazing is how you can get to know someone with no language communication at all. Dave's great with the old sign language skills...imitates a chicken very well. This came in handy when the couple invited us for dinner in the dining carriage (and paid!) So after 14 ...