Climbing the Wall

First of all, let me put an end to the rumours by announcing that I am still alive – with the picture to prove it – and not floating listlessly somewhere in the Pacific!  I have, in fact, made it to the People’s Republic of China where I’ve been teaching for just a little over a month now and have had a fantastic array of experiences: from a weekend in the incalculable megalopolis of Shanghai to rural family meals in nearby local villages, often culminating in unpredictable festivities including the emergence of a 100-foot long dragon weaving its way down the street as a series of wooden planks, each clad with tissue-paper candles to celebrate the lantern festival.

 

If you’ve stuck with me this far then I’d like to say thanks for your persistence and for checking in on my blog; it’s great to know that someone’s actually reading.  Most importantly of all, I need to apologise for the complete absence of news from the East - things have been pretty consistently manic here but, more significantly, I found my initial attempts at communication barricaded by the Great Firewall of China (no, not an example of my parched dry wit; Party officials really do refer to it as such) and so I’ve had to look into other options.  If you’re currently scanning this page, it’s finally worked and I’ll be posting up here at least once every fortnight from now on plus filling you in on everything that I’ve been up to so far - so it should be worth sticking with me now!

 

A quick recap then, for those that can’t quite remember who I am or which country will hold me responsible for the linguistic skills of its next generation: I’m currently teaching English in Zhejiang province (pronounced Jurjiang), eastern China, to sixth-form students in a town called Tangxi (Tangshee).  I’ll be exploring this area and keeping up with classes till the summer when a fairly epic travel plan should hopefully come into effect and see me on a two-month voyage… but that’s getting ahead of myself!  So with the next few posts I’ll bring you up to speed on what the past month and a half has had in store.  All the best to everyone back home – I hope you enjoy reading.