China - Day 523

China - Day 522

China - Day 521

Big day at work today. Yingying came back from Shenyang this afternoon and so I came back to say hello. In the evening we went out to the Sichuan restaurant just close to the West gate. I had deep-fried scraggy pork bits and bamboo shoots and peanuts and she had broccoli? or was it brocolli? . The spell-checker prefers the former. Plenty of beer to wash it down so a good time was had by all

China - Day 520

Well there was no sign of my interviewer at 1800 last night nor at 1805 so I messaged him and he told me 'ooh please check your emails, urgent call that I have to attend to, can we reschedule please? Nothing in my inbox. Later I was reading something about Confucius. Filial piety apparently includes for the concept of covering for your father if he steals a sheep. Sometimes I wonder why I am being lied to and maybe the answer lies in the teachings of this man from c.500BC

China - Day 519

China - Day 518

China - Day 517

YingYing left on Wednesday to go back to Harbin for mommy's birthday and then to Shenyang for auntie's birthday. So I am alone in the apartment .......I think......

China - Day 516

There was a massive gas explosion at the Outdoor market in Jinzhou earlier this week and may people were injured and I heard that some people were actually killed. I wasn't there but I easily could have been. The outdoor market is absolutely chaotic, people, table, chairs, gas-powered barbeques and open fires all jammed in together. Not surprised.....anyone can set up a small business and elf and safety does not seem to be top of anyone's agenda. One of the local teachers posted these clips onto the Wechat account that we all use at the school

China - Day 515

Winston sent me this momento of our lesson on Tuesday where I was particularly dysfluent.......

China - Day 514

Wednesday back at work - bit of a shock to the system. One of my classes graduated though.......

China - Day 513

China - Day 512 - Bijiashan

Road trip today with Yingying

Special trip to Jinzhou beach 25kms and out to Bijiashan (see Day 148) to visit the temples

 

Before taking the boat back and then bike ride to the seafood restaurant (see Day 147 and 148)

China - Day 511

Thick layer of dust on the motorbike after only 5 days away. No rain. Not that it helps, the rain doesn't cleanse like in the UK, it deposits dirty raindrops that form strange patterns. Anyway I went out to wash down the seat, and there were a couple, my neighbors, who stood and stared while I was at work. Not so much amazed at cleaning the seat, but I also cleaned my wing mirrors. No-one uses their mirrors when driving or even turns their head to look around. As Matt says, your job when you're driving is to take charge of what is in front of you

China - Day 510

Another early start on Saturday morning to take the taxi to Hefei airport, then fly to Shenyang and then take the train back home. Arrived in Jinzhou at 1600

China - Day 509

China - Day 508

China - Day 507

China - Day 506

Up ridiculously early in the morning 0430 to taxi to the train station to catch the train to Shenyang where we taxi'd to the airport for a 1200ish flight

We had scheduled everything on the premise that there was a 45 minute transfer to our destination from Hefei airport. From the airport we took a bus to the central bus station in Hefei (1 hour). Then a bus to the bus station nearest to JiuHuaShan (3 hours). Then a minibus into the JiuHuaShan park and up into the mountains (45 mins). Arrived at our hotel at about 2000. Collapsed

China - Day 505 - Wedding day

Up really early to get over to the marriage registration office - Yingying and I in the back of the car, her brother and her father in the front

I have been told that this is the only marriage registration office in Harbin that will register marriages with foreigners. We saw some Japanese/Chinese couples and one Russian/Chinese couple there while we were waiting

When it was our turn we had to hand over the right documents for photocopy and checking, then we signed and it was all over!

So we got back in the car and went straight to the reception which had been scheduled for 1200 start at a restaurant right by the gates to parents compound

I think I said something like this........."A warm welcome to everyone. We are very happy that everybody has made the effort to come here today. I am sorry that my Chinese is not very good but one day I hope it will be perfect. I love her and she loves me too and today I am the bridegroom and she is the bride. Without the Communist Party there would be no new China! Hearty thanks to all!"

Then there was a lot of eating and drinking. I left early to go back to parents apartment to collapse in an exhausted heap

China - Day 504

A big day at work with little respite at lunch-time. Then took the train 3 hours North to Harbin to get married the following day

China - Day 503

The pavement market at the West gate gets more and more crowded with hawkers every day

China - Day 502

China - Day 501

China - Day 500

China - Day 499

China - Day 498

China - Day 497

Big work day today. Drove to JieFang to set up for an 0830 class. This is Sunday. Why do parents make their kids go to school on a Sunday morning at 0830? Why are the kids smiling and laughing in the class as if they are enjoying themselves? Oh right - maybe they are

China - Day 496

Milk seems to be gaining - fresh milk not available in the shops but comes straight from the farm on a motorbike and the milk sellers wait on the corner for people to buy it in plastic bags

China - Day 495

China - Day 494 - Thursday 1st June 2017

China - Day 493