China Blog 4


Good afternoon! Well firstly the most significant factor of Liuzhou life right now is the weather... It's been around 26-30 degrees Celsius relentlessly and consistently for the last four or five days, with odd bursts of rain in between. It's nice weather to relax in a park or head out into town at nighttime, but it makes teaching pretty taxing, and it seems as if the students find it equally so. The classrooms seem to be practically devoid of air conditioning with only mild relief coming from opening windows, and bottles of water passed frantically around the class like gold dust. Its only mid-April, and one wonders if my pasty complexion and red hair will be able to withstand the full force of the South China summer, maybe I should buy a parasol and walk around with shades on like Michael Jackson... at least that'll justify the many stares I get whilst walking down the street. Due to the heat I've seen the emergence of various interesting bugs and spiders in my apartment, luckily they seem resigned to the toilet area so far, but the only mild discomfort is their inescapable presence on my bed at night. Many of them are very small, and just as you clamber onto the soft, cool sheets to retire from the labours of the day, there soon comes a faint tickling sensation on a leg or arm, followed by an instinctive slap or a swift spray of the bug repellent.

Saturday was an interesting day. I went with my German friend Susan to the Liuzhou English Corner, where anyone from any background, age or position, can come and practice their spoken English in a relaxed environment. Located in the city centre by the riverside and some old Chinese architecture, it was a nice tranquil spot amid the usual bustle and excitement of the city on a Saturday night. It was my first time to this event, and as a new foreigner I was swiftly surrounded by many keen and willing English speakers, ranging from primary school students to doctors. I didn't mind answering their questions (about where I was from, how long I'd been here for etc.) as it was nice just chatting about home and using cross cultural comparisons to create talking points (made me realise I don't miss England too much!). But it was good to give these guys a chance to practice their English, as many of them said the lack of native speakers in Liuzhou made it difficult to sharpen and tone their spoken language skills, the result perhaps being the infamous "Chinglish".

When I first came to the school I had little idea of the levels of English the students had, but I remember being approached by a student named Daniel in the school courtyard and being impressed by his willingness and confidence in English. Over the last few weeks or so, I've been giving him individual lessons and in return he teaches me some Chinese, maybe five sentences or five words a day. It's proven pretty useful for us both I feel, and over the past few days a few other curious students have joined the after school sessions. As is typical of the mind at that age though, he has expressed interest in being taught profanity. He is already aware of the "big three", but says he is interested in learning specific words from England. I personally have no problem with it, but I don't want to the one held responsible when a student bellows "cock" or "bollocks" in the middle of a maths exam having realised they forgot to carry the extra 2.

Last Monday (13th) saw the passing of my birthday, went for a meal then KTV. (I'll put some pictures on facebook at some point). I remember seeing puppies being sold on the street somewhere, for food or for leisure, I am not sure.