At the Flower Garden, one of the songs I had to teach was called 7 Cats.After I'd drilled all the vocabulary and we'd watched the video, I got seven kids to line up at the front of the class and sing the song.I stood behind them to prompt them and then at the end, I said "MEOW" really loudly and they all ran back to their seats giggling and screaming.I thought this was really funny so I did it with a few more groups of seven kids until the class was f...

I taught my first morning class as usual but when I went to my second class I was told there was no lesson because it was 'sports programme' in the afternoon and the children needed to practice.The teacher in that class doesn't speak much English but I was able to ask her if I could stay and watch them practice and she said yes.The children stood in two lines opposite each other and held hands in the line.The teacher placed a hoop over the shoulder of the first...

The weather had turned bad again and it was wet and windy.The wind was so loud it was howling through the bars.The bars?I don't think I have mentioned the bars before.Every window in the flat is barred with a cage.I've looked around the yard and not every apartment has this so I guess it was an optional extra when the apartments were being built.It means when you look out of the window you feel disturbingly like you are in a prison.I don't know if they are desi...

As is often the case, my plans to sleep were interrupted.The door knocked at 8am.Ruth was still sleeping on the sofa.I opened the door looking an absolute state, panda-eyed and wearing my hideous Chinese pyjamas.There was a Chinese teacher stood there with her arms full of bedding and a big smile. Teacher Wang had said earlier in the week that a new teacher may be coming to stay in my apartment for 10 days, but was unable to tell me when she would be arriving.S...

On the way back from Flower Garden I had to walk around more roadworks.I've taken photos because it's a weird sight. The trees that were in the way of the works have been put on the side of the road, complete with roots and soil still attached.The pipes are strewn about all over the place.I've actually seen three men just rolling one of these pipes down the road along with the traffic but unfortunately didn't get a photo quickly enough. Ruth came over and we h...