Shiz Grand Prix

As there is a small theme park only 5 minutes bike ride from us we thought I'd be a good way of wasting an afternoon. The main attraction for us are the go-karts. Dave, Brock and I had already checked them out a week before and so gathered the group for a proper race between all of us. The karts are fairly competant and the track is testing, with some fast and some slower bends. They are also very tail happy, particularly under braking. This also being China, safety is not a serious issue. First up we thought the girls could do with some practise, and we secretly wanted to know how good Meredith would be, i.e would all her anger come out in a go-kart. As we watched Meredith was closing on Becky, who had a head start, overtook her and then promptly spun in the next corner, so we were none the wiser really. Next us lads had a quick warm up before the big race. On the second corner I went in far too fast, spun, and had a head on collision with Dave, cutting my ankle on the brake wire in the process. Not the start I was hoping for.

We then came to our big race. Just the 6 of us for 8 laps. To give everyone else a chance, Dave and I started 5th and 6th repectively. We both made ground on the start and 2 laps in we were p's 1 and 2. I'm afraid this is how it remained for the rest of the race. I had to hold off Wallace to keep my 2nd place but after a while started to pull away and then lapped Meredith and Hilary on the same corner on the penultimate lap. Meredith was quick when she wanted to be but had no control in the corners, so we needn't have worried. I hate to admit it, but Dave was faster than me and so there was some light between us. So, a good 1-2 for England as we left the yanks in our wake. Next time they'll be more of us and so we may be challanged!

For the rest of the afternoon we explored the parks other rides and went on the log flume, rollercoaster, gyroscope, ghost train and some upside down thingy. None were really Alton Towers standard although the lack of safety made them a bit more interesting than they should be. They would also have been far more enjoyable had I not drank so much the night before.

Hong Kong 20th-23rd March

As leaving for China was such a last minute decision I did not have sufficient time to get my work visa before leaving. Fortunately this meant I had to take a trip to Hong Kong to change my tourist visa into a working one, and with the school paying for my flights and half the hotel I couldn't really complain! Flying direct from the Shiz into HK along with Cerri, who had come along for the same reason, and her son David, the first job was to drop our bags and head straight for the visa office. The whole process was relatively painless, only an hour and a half wait to be called and then 10 minutes at the window, with another visit needed to collect it the next day. With my task now completed I had 2 days completely to myself to explore as much of HK as I could.


My first point of call was the metro underground to Central station on Hong Kong Island (the hotel was in Kowloon on the mainland). As I walked out the exit I wandered straight into a small park and was completely surrounded by huge buidings. The main attraction is the Bank of China building and its odd shape, follwed by the HSBC HQ, designed to be inside-out. On a short walk up from here to the Peak Tram station I also had one of my highlights of China so far. A bright yellow Lamborghini Murcielago, 6ft away, going past me at full chat! I then caught the tram up Victoria Peak, which overlooks HK and Kowloon from the south. As you can see above the views from the top are amazing, even if it was a little hazy. After taking a lot of photos I left the crowds and took a walk through the parks and forest across the top of the peak. Back down, I wandered around the HK zoological and botanical gardens and then HK park. Although free and worth the effort to go, they would both have been better if the birds were free from bird flu and therefore on display rather than locked away. It was then briefly back to the visa office and on to the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre, with its 7 storey glass facade and where the handover took place in 1997. I took the tram up to Victoria Peak once again at night for the view of the skyscrapers all lit up. The view was something special but because of the haze and my old camera the pictures haven't come out as well as hoped.

For my second day I thought I would take in the sights of Kowloon before heading back over to HK Island. After a breif visit to the only climbing shop in HK, I walked the whole length of Nathan Rd and through the 'Golden Mile' (most cities now seem to have one!) past all the shops, museums and tailors HK is famous for. From the tip of Kowloon I caught the famous 'Star Ferry' across the harbour, for all of 8p for the 10 minute trip. Back on HK Island I moved on to the Causeway Bay area and its large malls and designer shops. As I was wearing shorts and had my rucksac, I didn't hang around too long and instead headed for Victoria Park.

The Wan Chai area is where the main nightlife is in HK and despite being alone it was still interesting to walk around, seeing a mixture of western residents, tourists and the HK locals all out and dressed up. I headed for the Convention and Exhibition Centre again for more photos before finding the quietest bar so to catch up on the cricket. I was on my own after all and so couldn't really go to the nightclubs! Flying back the next day I realised that one, I had walked a long way in the last 2 days, and two, that HK was the biggest city I have ever been to and now my new favourite. There is still a lot more to do with more time, as I basically just follwed what my Lonely Planet recommended for a 2 day trip! Things didn't go that smoothly at the airport though, Cerri and I had a mix up over meeting times and so I went through security without them, thinking they had already gone through. This wasn't the case and so involved an announcement to the whole airport, and the delaying of our and several other flights. They were not best pleased with me!

Referee

Last term Dave and Charlie played a couple of football matches with some of Dave's senior 1 and 2 classes. Apparently all went well and Dave's lack of skill wasn't much of an issue. This term however Dave was asked if he could referee a big game rather than play in it. The match was the Senior 1 team against the Senior 2 team, the oldest kids in the school and there was a crowd 100 deep. Dave was quite happy to accept and then kindly asked me if I would take over for the 2nd half. I have never refereed anything before but thought that it couldn't be too difficult, especially as I was given a whistle and cards. Half time and the senior 1 team are 1-0 up and Dave has had very little to do. By the end of the 2nd half it was 3-2 to the senior 2 team, flying tackles had caused injuries, my new linesman had very thick glasses and I had given a very controversial penalty for hand ball. I am probably only still alive now as it was missed. Next time I think I'll pass.

Beijing

As soon as I arrived in Beijing and having dumped our stuff at the hostel, the first place I was taken to was Tiananmen Square. The idea was that from the very middle of the city I could then get my bearings for where everything else of interest is. However after being awake for over 30 hours straight at the time and feeling jet lagged this wasn't really the case and even now i still need a map to get anywhere. I was well taken care of though as we ate only western food during my time in Beijing as it is so hard to come by everywhere else. I also had an easy introduction to chinese life by being here, as the others were all taken straight to the hole that is Shijiazhuang. I had only a few days in Beijing before travelling on so thought the easiest way to see the main sites would be to book a tour through the hostel. Luckily Meredith had the same idea and so I wasn't on my own. We had booked a tour primarily for the Great Wall, with the Ming tombs being the only other feature of note. However, after a very early start from the hostel, by lunchtime all I had seen was a restaurant, a very deserted and boring Ming tomb and two, yes two, Jade factories. We had quickly realised that we were being taken about by a tour guide on commission as we were herded into the Jade shops and being pressured into buying. I was having none of it and even told her to get lost when asked to pretend I was American!

After lunch we did eventually make it to the Great Wall, just not at the location we had signed up for. This didn't really matter though as, as you can see, the weather was pretty awful and so my pictures would be the same wherever we went. We were let loose with two hours to ourselves and told there were six gate posts until the end of our section. The going was a lot steeper than I had expected but I soon realised that if I wanted to make it to the end I would have to go it alone. So I did, and I made it to the end section and back in time. This still wasn't the end of the tour, we still had a teahouse to go!

For my last day in Beijing I asked Dave to be my tour guide this time around the Forbidden City. This is a closed off network of buildings behind Tiananmen square that was off limits for over 500 years. It was used as a residence for several emperors and is the largest and best preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China. The buildings were very impressive and I was very surprised by how quiet it can be in the middle of a city of 18 million people. The lack of organisation also meant that we could go where we pleased, including the controversial Starbucks in the centre.

The Team

As my first post I thought I should introduce you to everyone. Going left to right, firstly is Charlie (my predecessor) and his girlfriend Claire on thier last night in China. Then there is Dave who dragged me all the way out here, and teacher of senior 2's at the school. Then Kavitha who teaches at the university in the city, Meredith who shares junior 1 at the school with me, Brock, junior 2's, Becky, junior 2's also, Wallace who teaches with Renae in Handan, Hilary and Zack, both at the uni, Renae, and then finally me, the latest recruit and taking over Charlies junior 1 classes (12-14 years) at the school. Missing from the picture are Kristina, who is now a consultant at the school, Cerri, senior 1's, who like me is new to the school. Cerri has brought her 16 year old son with her, and Anhie another new teacher from Germany who is teaching everybody else's leftovers.