Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

The end of the school year is neigh!

As stated in one of my last blogs, at the end of each term more schools throughout China are looking to help further their student’s English education by providing them with one or more Foreign Teachers and some to also join the Buckland’s network.

This weekend found Catrine, Lisa and I in the north of Jiangxi Province in the little city of Dexing which is known throughout China for having the largest copper mine in the country. After being told this I expected a big glitzy city and a large school but when we arrived I was surprised at how small not only the city was but also the school. The school is owned by a mining company and being only several years old has only six or seven hundred students.

All students live at the school as they from other parts of China.

Upon arrival Monday evening (Monday, 6th June) we were warmly welcomed by the owners of the mine along with the headmaster and several of the teachers. After they checked us into a beautiful hotel we headed downstairs for a wonderful dinner to get to know each other better. This of course turned into a long evening of delicious food, beer and rice wine. Tuesday (7th June) was spent on a personal tour of Wuyuan County (see my following blog for photos) which is known as having some of the most splendid scenery in all of China.

As I had spent a week or so in Wuyuan several years prior, I was more than excited to return, even if it was only for one day.

Wednesday morning (8th June) we were welcomed at the school by the owners along with a small fanfare put on by the entire school, most of which have never seen a foreigner before. The owners and the headmaster are all extremely interested in English and its importance in China’s future so several years ago they decided to open a school that concentrates more on English than most other schools in the city.

The students begin their extra English lessons from Grade 1 through to Year 9.
They will of course also receive a normal Chinese Education...

As the owners, staff and students all had no idea how a foreign teacher actually teaches we all decided to do an example lesson each for them on Wednesday morning prior making our long journey back to Fujian Province and thankfully all went well. After a huge lunch along with many more beers, upon leaving I received very warm invitation to return next term to teach the Primary School grades. I personally found the owners and the school staff to be very genuine and warm and felt immediately comfortable with them which prior to, has only happened with the staff of my current school in Fujian Province where I have now spent two and a half years (two separate teaching stints).

Add to that the fact that the small city is built smack bang right in the middle of lush green mountains it is an invitation I will strongly consider during my last two weeks in Shaowu as I have already made my mind up to move on next term and the only thing I need to do is pack my pack and find a place to throw it for a year.

Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by Living Colour
The album was 'Times Up’
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