On Monday there was a hurricane warning in Shanghai and I saw two men walking the streets of the former French concession ringing and hand bell and advising people to go indoors and close the windows. The hurricane didn’t materialise – only a bit of a wind – nothing serious. The next day I was… Read More »
In Lithuania soon after the fall of the Soviet Union, queues for food and essential supplies were still common place and it was not unusual for people to join a queue without knowing what was at the end of it. I am reminded of this as I walk home along Nanchang Lu each day. There… Read More »
My mother and father used to talk about how everyone remembered where they were when JFK was assassinated. Even though they are not American, it was a moment which shocked the world. My two moments were learning of the death of Princess Diana (waking up on a Sunday morning and switching the radio on) and… Read More »
I was surprised, on my first Friday Afternoon Detention (FAD) duty to find so many of my students there. What on earth had they been doing? I looked down the list of misdemeanors to find most people had either not done their homework, spoken noisily in self study or missed a lesson. And what was… Read More »
I was definitely at a disadvantage when it came to setting up my (Raspberry) Pi Factory stall at the Club Fair today. I was teaching right up to the start time and by the time I had persuaded a student to help me lug the… Read More »
It’s go go go in the Teachers’ Room this afternoon. Some are having meetings, planning lessons, discussing students and marking work and others are…. ummmmm, well resting I think we call it. And you think your teachers do nothing but sit around drinking coffee all day? Think again. We are here from early morning until… Read More »
Last month I was excited to see a mother and her two kittens – one tabby and one ginger – on the roof outside my window. I watched as the kittens got fatter and played with each other. I hoped they hadn’t fallen down an air-conditioning pipe but feared for the worse when one disappeared… Read More »
The trouble is when you live on Huai Hai Lu you have to walk past shops which do their best to lure you in. I have a problem with three shops on my route home; the Apple Store, the Sony shop and the Swatch shop. The Apple Store with its bright airy space full of… Read More »
Our lovely students have been giving us presents today for the national Teachers’ Day in China. There has been some lighthearted competition in the staff room to see who’s high on the popularity scale. Brett was the first to show off his flower and put it with his frankly ridiculous Japanese cartoon creature on his… Read More »
Many people hate mice although I am not sure why. They are not very different from hamsters and guinea pigs and gerbils. I have a pet mouse which lives near my desk in the teachers’ room. At first I tried to catch it in the trap by putting one of Adam’s wedding chocolates as bait… Read More »