We're having some problems publishing new blog entries, hence the lack of input since last week. Meantime, here are a few highlights and lowlights:

Lesley and Hou Wanxia delivered teaching methods classes to Maths and Physics students last week, the second one filmed by Ali for the TDC video-training archive. The students are active, interested and work well together so the TP-Prep Project has got off to a fine start. Sue and Liao Xinli are also co-delivering some of the workshops.

Lesley is giving two 'model' (let's hope) English lessons at Simao No4 Middle School tomorrow. There should be about 70 observers each time, including Maths/Physics teaching majors, English teaching majors, College methods teachers and middle school English teachers. She will be teaching Grade 8 students. The regular teacher, Ms Fang, has asked Lesley to teach Unit 8 in the book (even if the students haven't reached it yet) because she wants to compare Lesley's methods to those used by teachers in a recent teaching competition (where Unit 8 was taught). Not much pressure then.

A small (M3.6), local earthquake rattled our window cadges a few evenings ago. Nothing too nerve-wracking but large enough to register on China's seismological database.

The fundamentalists are out every morning. They are two Grade 1 English Department students who repeatedly shout English expressions while walking round the running track. They are fundamentally opposed to giving up these old, useless, meaningless activities. While Ali and Lesley were out running this morning, Lesley couldn't resist having a chat with one. She suggested some new methods, which they tried together, and promised that if they two of them did some more meaningful activities together, they'd both have a better chance of improving their language skills. All that they're doing at the moment is polluting the peaceful morning air with painful-to-listen-to-noise.

Lesley is still working hard at the Chinese. If you're wondering why, given that we are meant to be leaving soon, go back to paragraph one.

Ali and Sue are still running a weekly cooking club and Ali had a bonus curry evening last night, for Sue and Liao Xinli. The Bombay potato, Sri Lankan dahl and lamb rogan josh (made with 3 of our imported spice packets) went down very well. Unfortunately Liao's husband, Chang, was busy working so couldn't make it. He's a Senior Middle School Maths teacher and has his hands full as his students face Universitiy entrance exams this term.

We have fleas, though Freda and Edie are adamant it has nothing to do with the rabbits, dogs and hamsters that spend time in our house.
 
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This might not be the most idyllic spot for swimming, but it didn't spoil the children's fun. Ali, Freda and Edie spent the afternoon at Lao Yang's grandpa's house in the countryside north of Simao, eating BBQ yak and honey straight from the hives. When I joined them in the evening they took me down to the pools to see where the ducks, now much larger and with feathers, are living. They gave up trying to catch the ducks in favour of swimming, fully clothed, in a muddy pool. Xiao Yang (Lao Yang's younger cousin), dressed in lovely white sportswear, was in deep trouble with his mum when we retreated to the house in the pouring rain and was promptly washed under a hose. Lao Yang was also worried about getting a beating and begged me to let Freda have another sleepover at his house. She returned this morning at 8 am, reassuring me they there was no violence.

 
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A small group of students have been working round the clock to help me finish the materials for the TP-Prep (Teaching Practice Preparation) Project, which starts this afternoon with students from the Science Department. The bulk of the work has been translating materials - some that we have used before and some new. Yesterday morning Jilly [see photo] and I spent nearly 5 hours planning, translating and typing up sample physics lesson plan materials. My aim is to co-teach this lesson to middle school students, if I can find a willing TP-Prep participant to do it with me. The clock is ticking but I'm optimistic we can finish on time. This morning is being dedicated to finalising the workbook, proof-reading the Chinese, printing, binding and finishing a couple of workshop plans. Sounds impossible? Time moves slower in the South....

 
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On Saturday morning Ali, Freda and Edie joined a Grade 1 class for the 12km  walk along the Cha Ma Gu Dao, the Ancient Tea Horse Trail. Michelle, who also helps recruit for cooking club, organised two buses to pick the happy hikers up at the College gate and we we driven to the starting point, about 10 km south of Ning'er. The trail has changed a lot since we last walked it in 2008. As well as being cobbled along the whole route (previously it was only the higher sections that still had (original) cobbles in place, there are now numerous sign-posts and shelters to cater for walkers, litter bins, shrines, a Land God altar, a stone bridge, and even a new finishing/starting point in the northern outskirts of Simao featuring a fancy stone gate and a giant turtle. It's not just Simao city which is showing signs of rapid development. (The old endpoint is currently an enormous building site split by a dual carriageway, Simao's northern bypass!)

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Our old picnic tree is under the decking...
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Now it's impossible to get lost...
 
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My patchwork knitting needle bag.
There are several things that usually fall by the wayside when I'm busy and stressed with work. The first is exercise and the second is creativity. Well, I have to be creative at work but that doesn't typically involve arts and crafts, apart from the odd flashcard or visual aid. Thus, as TDC tasks mount I am making a deliberate effort to do a bit of sewing, knitting, crochet or papercraft while at home. Sue and I went fabric-shopping at the weekend and I experimented with some patchwork - I now have a bag for my knitting needles. A number of women around the college are helping to knit squares for my travel blanket and I am currently stitching them together. It's not easy doing anything with wool in such hot weather but I'm determined to have something at least single-bed-sized before I leave. Wherever I am in the world I will be able to wrap myself in my Simao quilt. I have to say that it's great having Sue to share these creative ideas with and I have found myself inspired, despite the mounting work.

 
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The highlight of the day was joining grade 1 class 53 students on a visit to Simao's fire station. Here's Freda's account:
 
The day before yesterday we went to the Simao fire station. We went with the grade one students. The very brave students could volunteer to try the high jump. On the high jump you had to jump and catch the bar that was hanging from the high jump high rail. There was also a fire building for the men to practise putting out fires. Dad said that they fill it up with smoke and then they send the firemen and firewomen up to rescue imaginary people.

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As well as Ali managing to leap successfully from the wobbly post to the trapeze bar, he did a couple of one-arm pull-ups to show off to the crowd, 10 metres below - well, so he says.
Freda adds: Dad was a big, skinny show-off!

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Michelle, who also helps us to organise cooking club, was a star today. She made sure that everyone go the most out of the afternoon and helped Freda and Edie (uncharacteristically shy) ask the fire officers some questions. The answers will be written up during home school next week.

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Freda and Edie weren't the only ones to be excited to have a shot behind the fire engine wheel. Fortunately for the fire brigade, the ignition is voice activated and Sue didn't have the password.

 
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This week as been one of professional and personal turmoil, but things are becoming clearer now. To cut a long story short, the day after I announced I was leaving an opportunity arose that I have been working towards for years - to work with methods teachers and students from other departments to help improve the teaching practice experience of Simao Teachers' College teaching majors. The slight irony is, given our language skills and previous experience, it's not the English Department that wants to cooperate. We are currently forming a partnership with the Deans and methods teachers for Maths, Computer Science and Physics. On delivering my second methods workshop to Maths students I was accompanied by Liao Xinli who had the job of rescuing me when my Chinese ground to a hault, and to translate what the students wrote on the blackboard during a feedback activity. I then ran back to the office to continue preparation of the Methods Workbook we will use when we start workshops next week. This will have to be adapted and translated for our new group of clients! It's exciting, challenging, terrifying and is making me very happy. My departure date has been postponed a little, but we still aim to leave, probably at the end of this term.  

 
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Letter to College President
I handed in my notice today. This was a difficult decision but one that I felt I had to make. Every day I remain here I have to work hard to extractate myself from work that I love and a place that I have invested so much in. My end-of-service date is 11th June, though I hope to stop work on 4th June, in order to tie up loose ends, say my goodbyes and send some parcels to our next port (though we don't know, as yet, where that will be).

 
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Jackson going for walkies.
This is jackson. He is a fat white cuddly rabbit with a small tail. He eats cabbage and carrots. When he is tired he is quite timid but when wide awake he is very active. He eats alot and he is  now very fat. He likes being cuddled and likes being scrached behind his ears. He is adorable. He has his own little green harness for his morning and evening walks.

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Jackson having snuggle.
 
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Amusement, excitement and concern
Paul passed the Crash Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D test drive on the ipod - one of the many things Freda and Edie were eager to do with Paul during our 2-day visit at the weekend. We also managed to catch up briefly with Paul's girlfriend, Jiajia, and another VSO volunteer, Rose. A visit to Kunming wouldn't quite be complete, however, without shopping for cheese and DVDs and we gave Sue a brief tour of the Yunda University area. Meantime, Ali was back in Simao recovering from his 16-hour bus journey from Xiaguan (Dali City) to Simao, a journey that is possible in 9 hours. Yet again it was Jingdong's Anding market responsible for the 3-hour hold-up. Unlike last time with me and the children, however, he just snuggled into his seat and spent the time writing his diary which, these days, is a luxury.