Back in Mackay

Well here we are back in Mackay Far North Queensland (FNQ), it really is only Central Queensland (CQ) but I like the sound of fnq much better.
We have been "home" three months (now October), and have not seen one drop of rain in all that time, it's been more than 100 days since it last rained in June. In China I did tell my students that we only have two seasons up here - Wet and Dry; but this is ridiculous surely a little would be nice.
The time has flown - busy doing renovations, walking on the beach, making a bread oven, watching football down south in Melbourne, looking after grand-kids, talking and socialising. Now joined the Mackay golf club so will slow down a bit.

Harbin Visit in March

Well here we are in Harbin the modern capital city of Heilongjiang province in the far north east of China, near the Russian border. This province was previously known as Manchuria and has a long history influenced by both Russia and Japan. A city of just over 3 million projects a very relaxed living style with cobbled walking streets, a beautiful river ( Songhua) and many tree-lined streets. Our visit came at the tail-end of their long 5 month winter and were lucky to glimpse the remnants of their Ice Lantern Festival. Ice scuptures and ice castles are on display in many parts of the city.

A visit to the Church of St Sophia, built by the Russians in 1907 was well worth the 15 Yuan fee, about 3 dollars.

Vietnam - Feb 2009

Carla and I had a glorious 14 days in Vietnam.
Starting in Ho Chi Min City (HCM) previously called Saigon;
and visiting the following places:-

Caibe floating market .

Mekong Delta area.

Cu Chi tunnels.

Coffee area of Dalat in the hills.

Nha Trang holy places.

Tu Qui Nhon sea scenes.

My Lai ( Son My).

Hoi An for tailored suits.

Via China Beach.

Hue to see the marble mountains.

Cruise the Perfume River.

Cooking class.

Fly to Ha Noi.

Cruise at beautiful Halong Bay.

Cyclo ride thru Old town.

Class of 2008 - Freshmen

The Freshmen students came from all over Hubei province and some even further afield, this first year they all have to reside on campus with 4 in each dormitory. This living on-site is necessary as some classes start early around 0700hrs and 2100hrs being the last one it is great for bonding.
A two hour long lunch breaks allow a power nap - which I also enjoy.
The running - relay races shown here were held during their lunch break. All runners competed in their regular school clothes - after running back to class work.

Weekend classes of martial arts, sports and special interests are always available. The foreign teachers put in extra hours outside their normal teaching; they do presentations, attend concerts, parties and many "talk" fests.
If foreign teachers are feeling a bit low; the simple cure is to attend any student activity - the teachers are greeted like celebrities with joyful greetings and non-stop photo sessions. Simple participation by the teachers means so much to the students - one walks away or floats away without a care in the world.

Christmas in Wuhan

Christmas came and went in this big city and on our campus. For a large country that does not celebrate this festival; the department stores put on great displays and the people - were simply overjoyed for us. The students in particular showed their eagerness to embrace our culture by singing carols all week during classes.

We had parties during the week with all the other foreign teachers - sharing small gifts - so nobody got homesick. We also went to a great concert put on by Wuhan Foreign Affairs for all the "foreign experts" in town - a couple of hundred at least.
The only thing we missed out on, and I was so looking forward to it - was a White Christmas. The temperature did drop to below freezing but still no snow. Perhaps it will arrive in mid January.
The first pic shows some of the teachers and administrators at our party, dinner and karaoke night - the next one is part concert and christmas displays.

Wuhan Times

Expat workers in Wuhan have their own website to help them settle in and also to overcome culture shock. Anything you need to know just post a quick question into 'Expats' Forum' then sit back and wait a minute. Carla asked about english TV under her pen name and received loads of suggestions. We did'nt take any of them - but at least we now know.
Here a few examples under 100 tips to help you in Wuhan:-
1. If your Chinese is less than great always repeat the address 3 times to avoid being taken to some god forsaken hole you didnt intend on going... That being said the holes in Wuhan usually have great noodles.
2. Don't judge a food by how it smells, and looks. Looks like **** smells like **** will often be a great dish that is cheap as ****.
3. Learn to be a brown nose, Chinese people love compliments.
4. Any girl who is easy to pick up is usually trouble, stay away from them.
Try it sometime:- just click here: www.wuhantime.com

My Wuhan Buses

Love my buses here in Wuhan; there are so many and so cheap - you can't help but love them, definitely the most economical way of getting around this gi-normous city. But in doing so you must put up with a few minor discomforts; like no queueing, overcrowding, no suspension, no sanitary facilities and no time-tables. They are very frequent though - every 10 minutes - traffic and weather conditions permitting. Our favourite is the 515, normally it takes less than one hour to reach the ferry terminal; but now our very bad narrow road is being redeveloped and the detour around the east Lake adds another hour to the journey. Bus cards are available from selected banks - these proximity cards save having a pocket-full of change and can be topped up at McDonald's at certain hours. The drivers are fantastic -we have seen about 1000 near-thing accidents, but these guys keep missing and without losing their cool and no blasting their horns.