I thought I was doing well, as for the entire lesson with Punch-kid, he didn't punch me.I'd made a special effort to listen to him and give him lots of praise when he said a word correctly.I hoped that going down the positive-reinforcement route might surprise him into not being Punch-kid anymore.It's not the approach taken by the Chinese teachers that's for sure.If kid punches the teacher, then teacher punches the kid (well, punches, kicks, throws a chair, throws the child, you get the idea).I was feeling a little less anxious by the end of the lesson- we'd even exchanged a 'high-five' with feeling!But then I turned around and saw him creeping towards me...KICK.He booted me on the leg.Great so now Punch-kid likes to kick.Maybe I'll try stickers next week!

When I got to English Corner, Ruth wasn't there.The students said that the time change last week is actually a permanent change.It's going to be a rush getting there after my own classes!It's funny how timetables are changed for the winter in China; I've also had some timetable changes at my schools because the children go home earlier during the darker months.They use the same time throughout the entire country, even though the country is so large it spans about five time-zones.They do not have daylight savings time; the time stays the same all year.I guess this is why they have to change their routines to fit around the clock, rather than changing the clock to fit the routines.While we were waiting for Ruth, they asked me to start talking, teacher Alan said my English is very 'authentic'.Well it sure is good to know I'm an authentic sounding authentic English girl!