China


Teaching in Australia was becoming tiresome in so many ways ... so we ran away to China. In our first year (2004-5) we lived in Long Hu, out of Zhengzhou in Henan Province, teaching ESL at "China-Australia College, Zhengzhou". We were mostly teaching high school students, preparing them to move to schools in Australia, and older students preparing to take an IELTS exam (International English Language Testing System) to study at institutes of higher education.

Then we moved to Wuxi, in Jiangsu Province, and worked (2005-6) for "ABC World English". Our lessons were mostly to business people both on-site in their factories, and in the ABC classrooms.

Blogging was new, and I had a very popular blog called "China Time" on the Blog Source platform. When that closed down I moved my material to "The Howling Pigeons of LongHu".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trolleys and Butterflies

Image
 When we moved here, we noted that there were very few garden beds - after gardening had been Peter's main activity when we were in Northam. That's OK, he said, I'll just go fishing instead, now that we are near the ocean. Somehow the fishing didn't really happen, and so the plants multiplied - in a variety of pots and raised garden beds.With the constantly changing garden landscape - plants that were successful and others that didn't do so well - plants needed to be moved, and so the plant trolleys were born. The pots were getting bigger and bigger, holding fruit trees and the like. He made wheeled stands for the pots, painting them green to protect them from the weather, and now the plants are moved according to the weather - heat, winds, rain or hail, and so on. During storms they all gather in the patio. And the tennis racquet? Those pesky Cabbage Whites keep laying their eggs on our veggies with the green worms chomping away at everything. He gave himself a bit
Read more

The Shelter of the Most High

Some days it's hard to know what to feel about this Virus that seems to be stalking all of us. I sense that a lot of us are scared - of the sickness, of dying, and of the next few moths and years with all sorts of financial problems. And worried for our loved ones. It's a time for re-evaluating our lives, and thinking about what happens after death. Yep, I have even updated my Will. So, I have found this Psalm a great comfort. Of course, it is dependent on "dwelling in the shelter of the Most High". Otherwise there is a great deal to be afraid of. Psalm 91 1  Whoever dwells in the shelter  of the Most High      will rest in the shadow  of the Almighty. [ a ] 2  I will say of the  Lord , “He is my refuge  and my fortress,      my God, in whom I trust.” 3  Surely he will save you      from the fowler’s snare      and from the deadly pestilence. 4  He will cover you with his feathers,      and under his wings you will find refuge;      his faithfulne
Read more

I love puzzles

Image
I love puzzles, and play lots of puzzle type games on my iPad. I don't play for points - or "coins" - or whatever they want to offer. I especially dislike those games where each time you play you have to try to beat a previous score, and the game sessions just get longer and longer. I like the games where the idea is to complete the puzzle - and there may be points, especially if it is done quickly and correctly. So then I decided to do a really BIG puzzle - I'm learning Chinese. (I'm using the nice little app " Duolingo ".) I'm doing it because: It's fun, like a really big puzzle with shapes and sounds to learn. I'm at an age when I need to look after my cognitive function. I'll be ready when our Chinese overlords arrive.
Read more