Hey Hey and a Big G'Day to you all,
 
That's it mate, they've gone home!
I can't believe they've gone.
Shaowu will never be the same again.
The English couple have left the building.
 
Daniel woke up one morning and the need to be around his family and friends was just too much. I had no idea there was an internal struggle going on between wanting to stay here in China and going home. In the end family, friends and all things normal won and within days tickets home were booked, huge goodbye feasts and bar nights passed by and today the three of us said our sad good byes.
 
I've seen this happen to several foreign teachers. Some even had plans to stay for many years and then one day they woke up and that's it, it is time to go home. Maybe one day it will happen to me. I have huge doubts that it will but then others thought the same. When it does happen it is a huge pitty for not only the foreign teacher but also for the teachers and the students. I've helped some teachers through home sickness before but like several others this was too much to get through.

Last night an Aussie couple flew in to replace them. I got to meet them today at lunch time. Mate it was so strange to hear that thick Aussie accent again. I remember when I flew home from Norway years ago and I sat in the Melbourne Mall for many hours just listening to the way we speak. So strange to hear.
 
The last week has been huge. Full of huge dinners, a lot of beer and many hangovers. But it has been alot of fun and worth it.
 
So if anyone reading this has the following album put it on, grab a beer and lets offer a huge cheers to Daniel and Alexa. They were both great teachers and everyone here in Shaowu loved them heaps, especially the students.
We will all miss them heaps.
 
Thanks you two English Gits, you made life here in Shaowu a wonderful place to be.
Once you finish Uni Daniel I'm sure you'll be able to afford a better beer than Castlemain and Fosters! Unlike here in China where Carona and Heiniken were the drink of choice!
 
Hey Lek, Ya Right There Lek!
Thanks Champ!
Bloody Oath and Shit Yeah Mate!
 
I wish you both had stayed till the end but life is life and all good things move on to become good things elsewhere
 
Anyhow, to life and what else has been happening and also to why the hell there has been almost a complete month between entries in my Travelpod. Mate I really can't believe it's been nearly a month since my last entry. Things here have been pretty full on and my computer is very lucky it is still alive. If it was my computer it would have been thrown against a wall. Any wall! Mate just give me a wall and a week ago I would have happily thrown it again it.
 
It's running so slowly that half the time I just don't bother using it.
 
It died on me the night before I flew to Shanghai and when I got back the schools 'Computer Guy' put a 'ghost' imprint of his Chinese XP and Office on and ever since it has been running like a complete bitch. A computer purchased around 1984 would run faster. It's never been fast and has always frustrated me but this is now past being a complete joke. It's running so badly in fact that one night I timed its 'thinking time'.

Seriously, out of four hours work time the little bugger made me wait for nearing one and a half hours. For no reason it stops and thinks for minutes at a time. When trying to go between word and the internet or use photos and cross between them and another package it is like slow death. I haven't been able to formatted it until now as I only received an English copy of XP a few days ago. But if I format I will lose my internet access and it will probably take days for someone to come and connect me again.   
 
On a more happy and less frustrating note.
 
The main reason I haven't done anything about it is I have just purchased a new Notebook. For people my age, you will know it as a Laptop Computer. Why the name change? I can't seem to figure it out. Nothing much has changed as they still sit on both your lap the desk the same way. And then there are the smaller awesome ones called Tablets.
 
Maybe we should change the name of a Lap Dancer to a Note Taker. Then if she is smaller than a normal Lap Dancer we can call her a Note Taker on Tablets.
 
My new 'Notebook' is a Wizz Wizz Wizz Bang one that makes coffee and turns into a lap top dancer when ever I want it to. Har har.. No really, it is the latest and greatest HP Notebook. Its waiting for me in the store but they are waiting on English versions of both Vista and Office 2007 for me. Working with Chinese versions is ok until you want to do something out of the normal then it is just impossible.
 
Now let's talk quickly about Shanghai. For a city I never wanted to visit, mate I found it totally awesome. I loved it so much. Enough of Shanghai as soon you will be able to go back a month and read about it for yourselves.
 
What else? Life is as awesome as usual. Teaching is the best thing since the bikini. I love it so much. The weather has been awesome. The rainy period has finally ended...I think. Over two months with nearing all day rain every day. In the end it got a little too much to take. I missed my riding each day. If it wasn't pouring it was raining but raining was ok as I'd head out in the rain and ride for hours.   
 
At the moment I've got a lounge full of grade one, two and three students who play out the front each break. When I'm home they run in and out happily chirping on about what ever. To me it sounds like they are telling me about the noodles they ate the night before. I've no idea what they are saying, they know that but they are happy to just chirp on for minutes and then run back outside again. They are so funny.
 
Well that's it for now. I've a heap of 'back dated' entries to add but until I get my new Wizz Bang it really isn't worth the frustration of trying to cross between word and the internet and getting really angry with my computer. So I offer you all my usual Beers N Noodles and happy smiles.
 
So the soundtrack to this entry can only be one band. The crazy band that Daniel put me onto. The band is Marz Volta and the album 'Frances The Mute'
Go for it and beer it up mate!