Footnote 1: The title is a reference to the “Hundred Flowers” movement. The aim of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership was to start an open critique of the CCP by China’s intellectuals. In a speech that was delivered on 2 May 1956, Mao elaborated on the idea of “letting a hundred flowers bloom” in the field of culture. If you want to read more then look at pages 536 to 543 of Jonathan D. Spence’s book: The Search for Modern China.

Footnote 2: English teachers in China should never discuss history, politics or their preference of Coke or Pepsi.

March was a It was a mundane but busy month. Every line in my diary gets filled. I focused on online activity and writing.

My blog really got up an running. I had the blog re-designed in a fetching combination of green, blue and pink. I wrote an article about whether Chinese students should study abroad. I got a decent response to the article because I demanded that all my friends read it and comment on it. I was satisfied when some strangers read the article.

I also tapped into the Tianjin expats online community. I still have membership of tianjinexpats.com. The site works well because there is a small and motivated audience. A perfect niche. I used it to chat with other expats and publicise the school.

I started setting up the school’s new website for attracting new students. Like all IT projects, it was over budget and very very late. I hosted this month’s Coffee House, which was about Easter. There is photographic evidence below:

Economic forecast

Inflation lurches higher in Britain and JP Morgan offers to buy Bear Stearns for $2 a share. Could it get any worse? Yes – the price of bananas rise in my local street market.

I turned 23 in February and celebrated four years as a Christian. I was happy that I had escaped any irreparable screw-ups. However, I spent the time in hospital with a severe eczema flare-up. I needed the time to recover and I intended to do a lot of reading. I ended up playing Civilisation 4 (a computer game) for days on end. The other patients were amused at my explanation of the game.

I got discharged in a satisfactory condition and flew back to Tianjin the next day. My flatmate organised a belated birthday party for me in Starbucks. That was after I lost my camera, so I have no photographs of the occasion – except for a photo of the venue which I took last year.

I get back into the routine of Peace Institute life. It is my last semester in the school. I mark down the 20 weeks in my diary – so I am already counting the days. I manage to keep my pre-intermediate class, which means I can recycle lesson plans. I arrange my twice-weekly Mandarin lessons. Thursday is my new day off and I start my weekly Starbucks routine. I re-assume my role of Coffee House organiser. Coffee House is a monthly school event where the school invites outsiders to come and participate in English discussions for free. There are other activities and a performance by the teachers. It takes a lot of my time and a lot of my stress.

The heating never comes on in my apartment throughout the whole winter. I find out that I don’t have to pay the heating fees, which is a small mercy. But the long term effect is that I’m now scared of the cold.

Economic forecast

Slightly warmer than my apartment. But getting colder. Northern Rock (an British bank) gets nationalised. Property prices are falling. So, I can look forward to buying a house in 2050 when global warming renders Britain’s property stock worthless.

World event that no-one should ignore

Freak weather conditions cripple China’s transportation system at exactly the wrong time of the year (link).

January is the month for fresh beginnings in the Western Calendar. It was more like an intermission for me. I tell people that I spent 18 months in China, but it was really three 6-month stints with a month in the UK sandwiched in between. January was equally split between the end of term in China:

This was followed by two action packed weeks in the UK and Denmark. I was already thinking about my future London-life. Wai forewarns me about the hard life of the accountant. I also have dinner with Charles, an good friend from university. We provisionally agree to tentatively look for an apartment together in September. In the end, the tentative agreement becomes a legally binding contract. I come to realise that flat-hunting is not really possible from China and I let Charles do all the leg-work.

I enjoy my time back home but I am already counting the days left in China.

Economic forecast

Just a minor hiccup on the road to everlasting prosperity and happiness. Rising house prices for all. Actually, The Economist reports that forecasted growth for the US, Eurozone and UK are 1.8%, 1.8% and 1.9% respectively.

World event that James ignores

Obama beats someone called Clinton in a minor election in a small North American nation. I don’t expect that there will be any repercussions anytime soon.