1st January 2005

Have a good one wherever you are, I’m off to KTV (karaoke bar a la Lost In Translation) with some students to sing some Chinese pop classics into the night.

See you in 2005 - I’ll be there 8 hours before you!

25th December 2004

Ni hao from the Guangdong province massive.  I’ve been in China just over a week now.  Everything’s cool.  So cool, in fact, that I can’t really be bothered to update this journal.  The food is great, the prices are great (£1.20ish for a CD - i got a double Sonic Youth CD including the classic song ‘ceen gae riot’), the weather is great (apart from the occasional tropical rainstorm), and all my students are enthusiastic and obedient and speak great English.

I’m making a trip to Hong Kong in a few weeks, and during the National Day holiday (which actually lasts a week) I’m planning on flying to Tibet.  I can speak a few phrases, such as “no i dont want it”, “stop the vehicle, we’ve arrived!”, “it’s too much”, “i dont understand” and the other usual ones.  I can also read a couple of Chinese characters.

What else have I learnt?  That China is the probably most racist country in the world - EVERYONE stares at westerners, shops charge more to foreigners and even at the airport the had a different queue for foreigners. it’s all good though.

Until next time! (I can say good bye in Chinese but not write it!)

I fly in nine days’ time.  My mum found out that it takes a few days to order Chinese currency at the travel agents because they don’t actually stock it, so now i have to go into town, extend my overdraft to £2000 (chortle!) and then withdraw some cash to buy currency with.  The good news is that i can now get 14.5 Chinese things for one of my beautiful English pounds, whereas when the Lonely Planet book was last published it was just over 10!

Would you feel comfortable flying on an aeroplane when the company website is as shoddy as this [link to Air China website circa 2004, which looked like it was designed by a 13-year-old on Geocities in 1997]?  They even have the classic scrolling marquee!

I’ve just been having a quick read through the 992 pages that make up the Lonely Planet guide to China.  Here are some amazing facts that I thought I’d share:

• In rural China, the sale of wives and children is part of the local economy.
• China has a thriving music industry, but due to limited airings, generations of Chinese are still convinced that Western music is The Carpenters, Kenny G and Lionel Richie.
• Some Chinese people smile when they are embarrassed or worried. This explains the situation where the foreign tourist is ranting and raving at the staff in the hotel lobby, while the person behind the desk stands there grinning from ear to ear.
• “In 2001 the Chinese Psychiatric Association no longer classified homosexuality as a mental disorder”.
• “Get outside the cities and you will hear the exclamation ‘laowai’, or ‘hello, laowai, hello’. You’ll probably hear this a couple of douzen times a day. lao means ‘old’ and is a mark of respect; wai means ‘outside’. Together they constitute the most polite word the Chinese have for ‘foreigner’. It is sometimes said with a thick underlay of irony that undermines the respect implied in the word, but generally it is used in startled surprise at suddenly encountering a foreigner in a world that is so overwhelmingly Chinese.. There is no point getting annoyed by ut. If you answer by saying hello, they will often break into hysterical laughter.

In two and a half weeks I’ll be on a plane to China!  I’m not afraid yet.  Airports re one of the most exciting places you can be, right?  The atmosphere can be incredible, and it’s weird to think that what was once a random field in the middle of the countryside is now somewhere where millions of people every year from all over the planet momentarily cross paths.

I read that on Chinese flights, as soon as the plane hits the tarmac on landing, people are jumping up and collecting their things and making their way to the doors!

It’s too warm to sleep right now and there is too much average TV to watch…

COMING SOON: the obligatory ‘Craig at the Great Wall of China’ photo, ‘Craig at the Forbidden City’ photo, ‘Craig with the Terracotta Army’ photo, and of course the ‘Craig with loads of Chinese people in the background’ photo.

I got a 2:2 with honours.  It’ll do me.  I can’t be bothered to write anything else.  Maybe I will when i get to China, but the internet seems a bit shit lately.

I’ve just had my vaccinations for China and had a lecture about dietary information. From what I can gather, I’m not allowed to eat or drink anything or go near animals or something.

I bought a Cantonese phrasebook.  I can’t learn everything, so my plan is to learn and use only three phrases to get me through the first couple of weeks:

• “I need more nappy rash cream.”
• “I want to speak to my lawyer.”
• “I have been raped.”

From: C.D.
To: Craig Nunn

Hello All

I can now confirm the following dates:

Sunday 22nd August 2004: departure Heathrow to Beijing, arriving on
Monday 23rd August

Friday 27th August: depart Beijing to individual colleges

Contract dates: 1st Sept 2004 to 31st Jan 2005 (17th Jan 2005 for those
going to Shanghai). I have already confirmed with the new graduates that
they will be allowed to return to the UK for their graduation
ceremonies.

See you all on 20th July. Am VERY jealous!

Regards

C.D.
Employability Development Co-ordinator
The Career Development Centre
University of Derby

It’s all happening - we get to spend five days in Beijing!  I’ve sorted out my travel and medical insurance, I’ve got an appointment with the nurse later today for a medical and then I have to have my injections.

I’ve been offered the job in China.  I’m just waiting on my results before everything can be confirmed, but my visa request has been accepted.  Of course, this means I’ll have to give up my room in Derby which sucks because it means I won’t be able to carry on living the dream with Tom and Robin, and I’ll have to leave them paying extra for my room if they can’t find anyone in time.

Does anyone want to move in with them?  Do you know anyone in Derby who is looking for a room?  It’s £42 per week plus bills, and they’re nice people.  If you don’t mind loud guitars and farting, you should be alright.

The job is co-sponsored by my university and Rolls-Royce, who supply the Chinese Aviation Authority with engines  They send graduates out to China to teach English in their Civil Aviation Colleges as part of some ‘friendship’ scheme.  I have an interview for the role of ‘language assistant’ in a one of these colleges.  Here is what i have to do:

Imagine that your first lesson will be giving information about yourself, your family and home and where you live. You will be invited to tell the interview panel:

1. How you would plan the lesson
2. What activities you would prepare to encourage the Chinese students to talk to you in English about their own family, town tec
3 What materials you would bring into the classroom with you. Bring an example of this and explain how you would use it.

I found a book on lesson plans in the library…

I can’t wait to leave university. I’ve loved every minute of my three years here but i just don’t feel like I’m a part of it anymore.  I’ve finished my lectures,  I’m sick of having no money and I’m kind of sick of Derby too.  I’ve decided I’m definitely going to  apply for the six month job in China.  I need money but I don’t want to work.  Any suggestions?  If I don’t get the China thing I’ll be back living in Derby for another year, just because we’ve decided to rent the house and pretend we’re students for an extra year, except we’ll be students with jobs and money and at 5pm when I go home I won’t have to worry about coursework and exams and shit like that.  Plus, we’ll have broadband - a big bonus - and I’ll still be living on my own with my friends which you just can’t beat.

I want to start a lo-fi revolution in China. I’m off for a mcdonalds now with Tom, because we’re both too lazy to cook and don’t fancy minging beans on manky bread.

Oh yes,  I forgot.  I’ve seen this thing in uni asking for people to go live in China for 6 months from August to January, working as an assistant languages something or other. You get accommodation and £250 a month (apparently the cost of living is cheap?!) and A BIKE!  I’m going to apply.