Just to warn you... this is a long one! Well, I've started teaching! I received my timetable on Tuesday, and will now be teaching 900 students English every week. Good thing we've all had such thorough and extensive teacher training then... cough cough cough. Nicole and I will be teaching Junior 1, Junior 2 and Senior 1 classes, the equivalents of Year 7, 8 and 10. All of the classes are divided equally between us on both age and ability, although I have one ext...

So Nicole and I have been in Jiujiang for a few days now (I'm writing this on Sunday, our fourth day) and we're beginning to settle in now. I'd like to say we're getting used to the heat, but I still can't leave the house without my fan. Our Chinese is still embarrassingly non-existent, especially compared to the near-perfect English of the people looking after us, but I think we are making progress!Everyone here has been so kind to us - I honestly don't know how...

On Wednesday morning, the big group of volunteers split up, and we all started heading off to our different projects. The Xinjiang and Jiangxi volunteers were the first to go, heading to Beijing West station at 8am. It's (big surprise) massive, with huge waiting rooms where hundreds of people wait together for their trains. It's insanely crowded, but for the equivalent of 50p you can buy your way into VIP, which is almost empty and gets you onto the platform a li...

Sorry this is so late, we were so busy when we were in Beijing that I didn't have time to write anything, and since we got to Jiujiang we've not had internet because Project Trust told our hosts we wouldn't want it. Thanks PT. But anyway...We got to Beijing at about 10.30 on Saturday morning. The flights were pretty good because the planes were so fancy. Free drinks, three-course meals, snacks and personal touch screen tv/computers for each seat. The tv/computer ...

Thankyou everyone who has helped give me such a wonderful send-off this last week! I've had a surprise leaving party, goodbye meals, (several) last-nights-out, so many cards, so many lovely presents, so many drinks bought for me and then people coming to my house to wave me down the road when I set off... I couldn't have asked for a better last week, or better friends to share it with! Also thankyou to everyone who helped with my actual fundraising - it feels li...