I had written a different version of this, but then the result changed and so I scrapped it! I had a few ‘waifs and strays’ after the enrolment upheaval here. Some students were not on my printed register, but still turned up to class. I asked my manager if they could be added to my …
Breaking glass ceilings
I read a Guardian article recently which explained why Hillary Clinton lost the election. It described a number of reasons, including the fact white women en masse did not vote for her. She did not, in other words, secure the female vote. One reason for this was that women tended to vote for Donald Trump, …
Giving Advice – Don’t entertain!
This is the last week before a nine-day holiday. I have no plans to travel – everyone does, it seems, and the transport network will be busy (Beijing is supposed to also heave under the swell of tourists, quite the opposite during winter holidays, when many Beijingers go to their home province to visit family …
Week 2.1
This week has been a bit odd. On Tuesday, my classes were way down on numbers – I had four students in the first class, then ten, then six. Yesterday, I had full classes. We – me and the other teacher I share the teaching with on a Tuesday and Friday – decided to combine …
First time nerves…. again
First week of teaching was… interesting. I should perhaps provide some background. So, a couple of weeks ago, we (that is, some of the foreign teachers; two did not attend) had a meeting about the semester, and it was suggested we use the textbooks we had been issued with, for our lessons, especially because, the …
Snacks and singing booths
Things have achieved a modicum of normality here. I have topped up my cafeteria card (and used it), and I have had a mini-reunion with some teachers from last year. When I went to Qianmen last week, the student I was with suggested I try some traditional Beijing snacks, so he bought several different ones …
Qianmen 前门
Yesterday, it rained. And kept on raining. It was raining when I woke up, and rained all day until after I went to bed. It cooled things down, at least, and although it was rain, it wasn’t particularly cold, as I found out when I went to get some fruit in the morning, and got …
