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Well in the space of a few hours yesterday the temperature climbed about 20 degrees and it has gone from wet and cold to wet and hot, with wetness the dominant theme. It seems to ooze out of the walls, covering all surfaces, vertical as well as horizontal, with a film of water and making the tiled floors and stairs horribly slippery and the black board in the classrooms unuseable. Chalk does not show up on a wet board and nothing will stick to it either. The problems in China do not diminish!!! However, to day we did have just a glimpse of the sun which cheered everything up and started to dry everything out but it was short-lived. I have just got caught in a deluge and it was like being under a waterfall!! The rain came down in a solid curtain and my raincoat and umbrella were totally ineffectual so I'm sitting here in squelchy shoes and sodden trousers.
Yesterday I taught my first class - a small one of about 40 lovely 17 year olds. They are so much less sophistocated, so much more innocent than our 17 year olds and appeared to hang on my every word, even when they couldn't hear me (the accoustics in the classroom are dire as well), so I had quite an easy time of it. Tomorrow I'll teach a rather larger group of 16 yr. olds. The biggest problem is persuading them to speak. They are painfully shy, lack confidence and hate standing out from the crowd. They die of embarassment if one asks them to say anything, so it is difficult to assess their ability. They are keen to learn (they have to have English to go to university), so long as it does not involve them saying anything in English!!
There is a lull in the rain, so I'll make my way back to the school. More next time.
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