Knobcottage in China

Ever since I have been in China, I have been dancing with Dama (middle -women), except in Jiangkou the park dancing usually includes men and women and an age range from maybe twenty to 60.  At the end of the evening, all the big groups pack away and a small group starts shuffle dancing.  I'm not sure quite what it is called in Chinese, but it looks really good, is really fast, and not easy to do!  Tonight I was watching and up pops Wan Yi.  He is a friend that Parklady introduced me to one evening when she took me out singing.  He is a small intense guy and unusually for Chinese men or women in this area he is built like an ox!  I guess he must be around my age, but probably fitter than I was when I was 30! Wan Yi and me. I didn't see Wan Yi, but he had spotted me. He has asked me to the park many times, but I have never been able to go as he goes early in the morning and I am at work.  First thing I knew was that this had grabbed my wrist. ...

Last week when I was coming home, I bought a couple of bottles of drink and sat down to chat with an old security guard.  Whilst chatting I met a new friend, Susan.  Susan is a teacher in Jiangkou and her husband is a Police Doctor.  She offered to teach me Chinese if I taught her English.  We have had one online chat whilst she was wearing her face mask.  Most Chinese women wear these before going to bed.  Or at least that's what I am led to believe! Anyhow, she promised to take me for a drive, and we went on one this morning.  Not just Around Jiangkou, but around  'greater Jiangkou'.  Up into the hills and to a friend's farm.  It was quite remote, and she had to ask the way once or twice . Journey video. We drove through some spectacular countryside, sorry no photos, and eventually, we got to this little farm.  We got out and went on foot down a small road between buildings with brightly painted walls.  We stopped to t...

I have been using WeChat for a few years now and have got quite used to it.  There is a section called 'moments'.  This is where people's personal posts appear, and WeChat notifies you of new posts from friends.  I was looking through these and noticed that Dan, a friend of my best Beijing Friend's Little sister recently had a death in the family.  I commented that if she wanted to talk, I was willing to listen. Later I got a message taking me up on the offer.  I decided that as she wanted to talk, I would invite her to mine and try and cook some food and make similar to the locals.  She accepted the offer and we both laughed about the food I would cook!  this would be the fires time I had done something like this!  So after school on Friday I set about doing it.   I prepped it all cooked it, let it cool and then put it in the fridge.  It was my plan to microwave it when she arrived.  she arrived early and I showed her to my a...

The arrival of Sherika After Anna left there was a space in the school for a foreign teacher.   |A few weeks ago I was introduced online to Sherika, the new foreign language teacher for year two: I teach year one.   I was expecting Sherika to arrive in Jiangkou on Friday30th and kept in touch with her via WeChat.   I also asked my FAO to keep me informed of when she would arrive as they were both together.   I finally finished my first week of teaching and decided to go to town to pickup some shopping for Sherika.   She had given me a list, I kept the list on my phone.   After a bout ten minutes in the supermarket, I noticed there was a WeChat notification of a missed call and texts.    It was Jamie, and in true Jamie style, there was the message “GPS” which in Jamie talk means “Where are you?   I told him that I was in the supermarket.   “Get back to base, I am in the Deputy’s office, we are eating together”.   From that I...

One day when I was in the park, I met a student from my school and her friend Mary.  We got talking.  The student asked for my wechat, but we don't give that out to current students.  However her friend had graduated so I swapped WeChat with her.  The next day I met Mary in the park and she brought me a Chinese book about one of the dynasties and ran off!  The next day we met again and we shared some milk tea and fod at my favourite little diner " Happy Beginnings" and went for a walk.  One of my students and her graduated friend Mary by the river, fire brigade boat in the background. We went to a part of the river I had not yet explored.  We walked and talked a bit and then I saw a few more of my friends and said hello to them.  It seemed that everyone I knew was there.  We were talking about why I was in China and how it was an adventure for me when, we saw the fire brigade doing an exercise.  We watched a while and as they brou...

Whilst I was in the park last night, I'd swapped WeChats with a few of the people, including Park Lady.  In the morning, I got a quick message "Have you had breakfast yet?"  I told her I had not.  She asked where I lived and I told her.  She then told me to go downstairs in five minutes as she was taking me to breakfast.  I am getting used to this 'immediate invite' stuff in China, so I got ready and was downstairs in five minutes.  There she was, and true to the invite she took me to breakfast.  She took me for a walk around the back of the shop and showed me how they make their own noodles We ate, and as soon as I had finshed she got up and said "let's go!" and off we went.  We went to a nearby shopping mall complex.  I say shopping mall complex but really it was like a ghost building half finsihed and quarter occupied.  It is very near my school.  She got out and met her freinds.  They all had umbrellas, or rather paraso...