Our main goal today was to get to the Temple of Heaven and meet Noreen, who had her VSO 'exit interview' in the morning. Noreen's been a volunteer in China for two years, devoting her energy and experience to teacher training in the Provinces of Guangxi (1 year) and Gansu (1 year). When I heard she would be in Beijing on the 26th, I was determined that our paths cross, before she heads back to Europe (Ireland then Spain). While waiting for Noreen to arrive we avoided the camera-yielding gawkers by hanging out with these two friendly park workers, who chatted to us like friends, not animals in a zoo. It's not only the British who talk about the weather. We spent about 20 minutes discussing the climate differences between Beijing and Yunnan, a conversation initiated by the chap on the right. It's horribly hot and we spent the afternoon sitting in the shade of various trees, chatting about our time in China and what lies ahead.

We had a lovely time in Kunming with Paul and Jiajia. Edie and Jiajia get along like a house on fire and spent many happy hours in Jiajia's bedroom, playing with toys and dressing up in designer clothes - Edie's mastered a bit of a cat walk strut and entertained us with a fashion show. I also managed to observe Paul teach a couple of times, part of a portfolio assignment for my Dip TESOL, which starts next month (I'm trying to get ahead while I can). Edie and I are now in Beijing, resisting switching on the AC, so as to acclimatise. Very hot and stifling up here. I can see why Kunming has been called the Spring City.

Paul and Jiajia took us to the airport yesterday, which was a strangely surreal experience. There are many things we left behind when we came to China, our independent mobility being one of them. None of our non-Chinese friends drove here until Paul passed his test recently. My old and recent lives collided in a new experience of being in China. Hard to explain but it made me feel homesick. It was also a lovely treat to be sent off and distracted me from feeling upset about leaving Yunnan.

The first thing I reach for in the morning is a cup of coffee. Edie and Paul, on the other hand, go head-to-head over the monopoly board. I have too many memories of being thrashed by my big brother and I still seem to associate the game with stress rather than fun. I shall leave them to it. Edie got a head start today by dealing the cards out before Paul had sat down, ensuring that she had at least the yellow set and Paul had a couple of blanks. Go girl, go!

A lot has happened since the last entry - Doudou has moved out, for starters, Freda has turned 10, Chirpy and Sid have been released and I have left Simao, with Edie in tow. We are currently staying with Paul in Kunming, and will fly up to Beijing on Sunday. I can't believe I've finished working there. There were no thanks or farewells from anyone in the College after 5 years of effort, except for Hou Wanxia coming to the airport. It was very hard to say goodbye to her, though I feel certain we will meet again. Time for a fresh start. Ali and Freda will remain in Simao until Freda's new passport comes through from Hong Kong. In the next few days they still have to find a home for little Duncan the hamster and decide what to do with Jackson (the rabbit). Is it better to release him in the forest with the risk of perishing, or give him to the pet shop with the near certainty of a quick death before being stewed? A true dilemma.

Doudou is our pet dog. We have had her for two days. She is a sausage dog. She is the colour of milky coffee. She eats rice and meat. She is very cute but also very cheeky. Once she bit our rabbit's ear. She has a dog-boyfriend. We are trying to train her not to do widdles in the house. When she does a widdle in the house we stick her nose in it and put her outside. We love her and it will be sad when we go and  have to leave her.

Our bathroom is a busy place these days and the fluttering of Sid and Chirpy's wings make quite a draft. Chirpy and Sid love the bathroom! Don't ask me why. They hang around on the curtains and on the tubs and bottles of shower gel and shampoo, pulling things out and throwing them on the floor. We have to put the toilet cover on though because Sid's flying isn't very good and he might fall down the hole! As you can see in the picture Chirpy is about to fluff up her feathers. She does this when she wants to show who's boss. Aren't they cute? Once they've played long enough they go back to their cage for food. One keeps look out and if they see us coming to shut the door, they dive out. Very clever. Also, I hope you like the new Joke Corner.

We're actually packing up to leave Simao - not the December frenzy of not knowing whether we were returning or not. This time we're clearing out, bar a few herbs, spices and boxes of matches for the following volunteers. The problem at the moment is not knowing where we're actually going. We have a few ideas but are awaiting news on a job in Malaysia. I have been offered the position, but it doesn't quite exist yet. It's a long story.

There are, nevertheless, a few certainties. Firstly, our visas expire on September 10th, so we should really try to leave China by then. in order to avoid prison. Secondly, we hope to go to New Zealand for November - spend some of my hard-earned end-of-service grant on a one-month campervan holiday and to visit friends. Thirdly, we'd like to return to the UK at some point in the near future, finances allowing. Given finances, this may have to wait until after New Zealand. Fourthly, I have just enrolled for a Diploma in English language teaching, which means I want to give myself some study time over the next few months. I will have to find some teachers (to observe) and students (to teach) for a short period, which may lead us in a particular geographical direction.

Meantime, we are sorting our material possessions into "keeping - UK", "keeping - travel", "giving", "posting - next job", "throwing out" and "leave by bins" - for any random passer by to claim. We are trying to keep the stress levels low, which is hard given that we haven't a clue where we're going, what we'll do and whether we can find a suitable job. I guess we came down this road and there's no going back now....

Who'd have thought I'd be thanking Barbie (once banned from our household for 5 years) for inspiring my children? I finished a half-hour phonecall with Noreen to discover that Freda and Edie had been making some Barbie-sized loaves of bread. "Did you remember the yeast?" I asked sceptically. "Yes mummy, we mixed it with sugar and warm water and left if for about ten minutes". Silly me. When they came out of the oven they were better than my own morning batch.

The afternoon home-school activity involved making and decorating fashion design books. Freda and Edie have been getting up early to sew clothes for their Barbies. Unfortunately these budding designers, like any other, need some slave labour to stitch up the garments. That's where I come in. My fingers were raw after forcing a flimsy Chinese needle through the seams of a denim dress and canvas bag [left]. Fortunately Freda took over for the second slinky number [right], designed by Edie. Tomorrow they will begin a new selection of outfits, making notes about fabric, special features and tailoring requirements (that's the English part) and measurements (that's the Maths, in case you're wondering). Their portfolios, when complete, will be going to Jia Jia (aka Ava, herself a fashion designer) for final assessment. Freda and Edie think she can make a living in Kunming by selling Barbie clothes. A small boutique next to the Barbie Bakery perhaps. I'm going mad.....

Hou Wanxia's daughter, Nini, is preparing for her end-of-term exams and the usual run of competitions at this time of year. One in particular, which prompted this weekend lesson with me, is the 'how many English words can you remember?' contest. I agreed to teach a group of Nini's friends, all of whom have a good command of English vocabulary and grammar rules, but have trouble stringing correct sentences together. The key aim was to review vocabulary from the text book and introduce a number of study skills and activities that they can use as they revise for their exams. I prepared a two-hour class [with breaks ] and materials for 8 children. What Wanxia didn't tell me was that 3 of the children (the boys) were her own tutees (mostly children of College teachers), all a much lower level of English than the girls that Nini had selected, and one of them a Grade lower in school - so he hadn't even studied the English I was supposed to be reviewing. The goal posts were shifted as and when required and at the very least I was able to evaluate the students' study strenghts and weaknesses so that they all left with a personal learning plan.

This is my horsey balloon preforming a trick, isn't it lovely? I tied something heavy to the horse's foot and it did a great twirl. You can't put anything too heavy on the horse's back or it dosn't fly. Freda thinks it's boring but mummy says it's science.