Maybe I'll do a blog

So I've been in China for 8 days now. For the moment I have decided to try a blog rather than sending group emails. I'll probably end up doing both inadequately. 

What have I learned so far... I can count (once you can count to ten you can count to 100), I can say: do you speak English? I want to go to the skytrain, I don't want, waitress, and a couple kinds of meat. Although so far all the meat tastes rather similar, I don't know what part of the animal the cuts are but it is consistently 90 percent fat. 

I've met some helpful people around the school. I'm living with the vice principal (temporarily) who has been very generous - taken me out for dinner etc. The school librarian Stan is great, he also owns a western restaurant in the local village. So far he has lent me another book to read, and offered to take me out golfing eventually. Apparently the top golf course in China is nearby, we will however be playing on a oceanside 9 hole course. It does have an island green though...

It's been pretty quiet so far, I'm leaving for Guilin on Sunday then heading to Yangshuo province - if you google image it the pictures are amazing. There I plan to rent a bike for a few days and relax - where I'm staying offers tai chi, calligraphy and painting. After that who knows, my only plan is to fly back to Beijing at the start of February. I'll try to post a few pictures soon...