I had a message recently from the liaison teacher at the university where I work. Given that the semester had finished already, it was a little strange (although last year she messaged me when I was at the airport, ready to depart on my winter travels, to ask if I could cover for another teacher …
Category: Beijing
The ‘Wild Wall’
Last week, I was invited to visit the Great Wall. I have been before, once, to Badaling, one of the most touristy parts of the wall just outside Beijing. This time, the invitation was to visit the 'wild wall', where tourists do not, often, visit. The invite came from my Chinese colleague who sorts out …
It’s Christmas!
Christmas is not really celebrated here. In my final class of the semester, with my second-year students, I did a lesson all about Christmas. We sang ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. It was nice to get into the holiday spirit, even if it is not a holiday they celebrate. There are …
I finally did it!
I finally did it! Now I have joined the gym. An ex-colleague had asked me about whether I knew of any gyms in the area, and a former student of mine had mentioned one which was about 10 to 15 minutes away from the main entrance of the university. It is also 24 hours and …
I finally took the leap
I finally took the leap. I did it. No, not join the gym, I still have to do that. Rather, I signed up for another Chinese class during the week. This one will be on Tuesday evenings, 17:00-19:00. I will do it online – from my room at university. I work on a Tuesday until …
Clear days in the city
Today is not a good air day, but these were taken during the week (when the air was good) from a bridge at about 17:00. I was on my way to meet a friend and was walking from my university to the restaurant, crossing this bridge. You can just see the red tinge of the sky …
This is a learning curve
“I think at last, we understand one another, Frodo Baggins”. Faramir said that towards the end of the second Lord of the Rings film. And so it is here too. My culture course has not gone quite as I imagined it would. My first class, the introduction, was fine, but that was really just who …
