I apologise for the lack of blog updating. I’ve had a combination of apathy and blogaphy. Here is a two minute update on my life in the past 5 weeks.

• Monday July 14th – Arrive back in the UK in a daze.
• Week 1 – Open my mail. Check through my bank statements. Spend hours in front of a spreadsheet to find that I have not much money. Catch up with friends. Find out that my badminton level has stayed the same – bad to OK.
• Week 2 – Paris! Holiday for a week with my family. Highly recommended.
• Week 3 – Catch an infection in my lower left leg. I lie down for a week and sleep a lot.
• Week 4 – Go back to work at my old workplace. Lots of filing and typing. Enjoy the British summer – no mosquitoes, no scorching heat and daily rain.
• Week 5 – Realise that I am moving to London soon to start a new job. Panic buy lots of distasteful shirts. Mum points out that I don’t own any double duvets, duvet covers or sheets. I find out they cost a fortune in Britain, despite just being cotton sheets sewn together.I go to Liverpool Frontline Church for the last time.
• Week 6 – I get sick of shopping and resign myself to being badly dressed. The office buys cheesecake to commemorate my leaving.

Life is good, though not so dangerously exciting as China.

I’ve turned in my textbooks; cleared my desk; moved my photo to the “Former Teachers” wall. I hope that my students learnt some English and didn’t get bored by my jokes.

Teaching was an enjoyable experience because teachers are respected in China. Imparting knowledge to other is a satisfying experience for most people. Below are some thoughts about it all:

• Ban on Chinese – I banned Chinese in the classroom to the point of screaming at students to use English only. This is a fundamental law in teaching theory. However, some days I gave up because there seemed to be no other way to teach. Some students can’t seem to escape thinking in Chinese.
• Differences in Western and Chinese learning styles – My lessons are proactive and encourage students to talk as much as possible and ask questions. Traditionally, the Chinese students learn by passively listening to the teacher. Should a Western language be taught in a Western style?
• Chinese English Teachers - I’ve met students that have been learning English since before I was born but have not managed to go beyond the elementary levels. This reflects the lack of native teachers in Chinese primary schools and the emphasis on reading and writing, rather than communication.
• Whiteboard or blackboard? – You decide.
• Do good students overcome bad teachers, or do good teachers overcome bad students? – I’m saying that learning language is a partnership between student and teacher.
• English is definitely harder to learn than Chinese.

If any former students wish to make a complaint then please leave a comment below:

In a fit of laziness, I’m going to combine all the things I wanted to write about but didn’t have time to do until I had left Tianjin.

丁字沽 (DingZiGu) Bus Stop Information

Tianjin’s bus system is comprehensively covers the city. The buses are cheap, clean and frequent. In the space of 3 months, most of the old buses have been replaced by new ones. Though the overcrowding problem remain during rush hour, but it’s not bad considering the city is home to 10 million Chinese (and a few expats).

Unfortunately, the timetables are not tourist friendly. You really have to know the layout of the city and remember the Chinese road names in order to figure out where you want to go. I’ve missed a few buses whilst trying to decipher the timetable.

Roller Blade Academy

Children can learn how the roller-blade in the park where the school is located. I had to cycle through swarms of roller-blading children to get to school and, fortunately, always managed to avoid hitting anyone.

Earthquake Donations

After the Sichuan Earthquake there was an outpouring of donations from all people of Tianjin. A list of donations in descending order was posted on red paper in all the apartment complexes. The donations ranged from 100 000 RMB to 10 RMB. In the West, there is honour in donating anonymously and this would be considered ostentatious. I asked my Chinese teacher about this and she said that the generous are respected. Are we too cynical in the West?

Tesco in Tianjin

Tesco have started their invasion of China. However, they were behind Walmart (the world’s biggest retailer) and Carrefour (the second biggest retailer), who have a bigger presence in the city. I shopped at Carrefour more because it was closer to where I lived.

Tianjin has many more interesting stories but they are for another (better) blogger to write about.