Knobcottage in China

As I said in the last Hospital post  all this 30-40 degree heat, no air-conditioning in the office, 80% plus humidity, constant sweating and my pig-headed perseverance, something had to give.  So at the end of term my system finally gave in and I spend three days indoors mostly in bed; I was recovering.  I learned a lot from that.  The day here starts early, maybe 6am.  It stops maybe midday until 2pm and then continues.   I am now trying to fall into that pattern, but perhaps too late.  My skin is not good.  Particularly in places where constant wet clothing touches it.  This is my elbow, in case you are wondering! It started at my shoulders, as prickly-heat, then dry patches and now this.  It is spreading.  Soon I will be a Ninja Turtle, my wife says she want a Michaelangelo.  I am preparing my orange bandanna later this week before I loose the use of my hands!  However, having tried it on, it does not look ...

Shrika is not happy here yet.  So i took her out to meet the locals.  We went to the little shop nearby and several people stared.  I invited themto take photos.  They were happy...even Sherika smiled. left to right (in case you couldnt work it out!) A local, me and Sherika I then took her to meet woodshopman.  She didn't seem to keen but, the more contacts you make in China the better.  As is the custom, he offered tea.  Sherika told me that she had already had on e cup today and didn't want anymore.  I explained this to woodshopman.  He produced some camomile tea,, but Sherika did not want any.  I drank tea and Sherikas recited some English words  fro a book to woodshopman's son.  After abut ten minutes Sherika looked bored and said that she wanted to go and buy her cabbage, the reason we had come out in the first place, and go home.  I offered my apologies and we walked out of the shop and down the street.  S...

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...

Well it was to be expected.  I was not built for 80% plus humidity and thirty plus degrees.  Something had to give.  It was my skin.  First it just looked like it got a bit dry, then it got irritated and then it turned nasty and paper-like.  I'd been to the pharmacies and bought various preparations that had had no effect.  Time to see a doctor.  There is no such thing as a GP in China so it means that to see a doctor you have to go to the hospital.  It is well known that the bigger the city the better the hospital andthe better the doctor.  Guizhou is a small province, Jiangkou is a small town.  I didn't expect much.  The hospital itself is quite a nice looking building set opposite the park.  I had not been i before but as I entered there were two things that struck me.  The first was the payment desk and the ATMs.  The second was the hot water machines.  Hotwater has the folklore ability to cure anything. ...

The lady in the park who had invited me to the  dinner with the literary elite of Jiangkou, is also a very good singer.  Yesterday she invited me to attend a singing group.  This is a serious singing group with an excellent 'conductor'.  It all takes place in the reception area of the stadium near my school.  I feel way out of my depth but everyone is so welcoming!  I try my best but can only hum and the words are Chinese.  Strangely the tune is familiar.  It is vaguely reminiscent of the old music-hall song 'After the show is over' so my humming has a sort of focus!  So far I have managed to go twice.  Last time the director of music and the conductor spoke to me.  We all sang a song each!  This is getting interesting.  The song is, I think, a song about China.  I took a video of the singing, but it is too large to include here.  Below are two links to two videos.  The videos are large and may take wuite a...

One night I went to the park and was watching the singing.  I didn't join in because the it is getting close to the 70th celebrations in China and the 30th celebrations of the 'opening up' of China.  People are getting paatriotic and the songs are getting difficult.  Pepole are really passionate about China, and there is always a queue of those who wish to show their passion and who can also sing.  I was sitting in the midst of this when a young girl sat beside me.  She had found a foreigner and she was so excited!  We talked a bit.  She kept running off to her dad who was sat nearby.  We chatted in a mix of Chinese and English but had to resort to some Google translate.  I remembered I had a euro coin in my pocket.  I gave it to her.  She smiled and refused it, I gave it to her again, she looked so excited.  She ran over to her dad.  I went to sit by them and talked to dad, again in amixture of Chinese and English and Go...

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...

Town for breakfast As usual I headed into town for breakfast.  I just love the early morning market.  I bought a few breakfasty things and then bumped into a few friends.  They invited me back to their house and I played with their kids for a while.  It was fun and they were fantastic kids. However I had to go to School because the air-conditioning man was due to fix the office air conditioner.  I got to school and all the new year one students were doing military training.  I am not sure why but apparently this is what happens every year.  I watched for a while.  It was hard work for them, marching etc.  It was too hot for me and I was just watching, so I went to the office and met the air conditioning guy.  It was the usual guy.  He fixed it in about five minutes.  I turned it to 20 degrees and hung around until I dried out, and in the meantime got on with some school work!  Just as I had more or less dried out it...