Here at last!!!

So its been a depressing last week, in the space of a week i lost my camera, both mine and zaks phone, and my motorbike was stolen. Needless tyo say i was pretty cut up for a little while.

Not much else to report, after coming back from down soutrh i found life was much the same in the Bin, still dong the same things, drinking, working, going to blues. Some cool new people have arrived though, don't know if i have reported on it yet but Todd, Dale, and Dane ahave all arrived safely, as well as Johnny my good mate from canada he went home for a bit now he's back big as life.

Also a few Americans have arrived. Put the gun down mum, there actually ok. Strangely enought they are even close to being cool, if thats possible. Ones from georgia, ones from texas and there nboth ashamed of being american which is always a good starting point!!

A few nights ago it was Beth's (Johnnys chinese fiancee) birthday, so we all went out to dinner for a fancy meal, all us Aussie lot and a few cnadaians and chinese people thrown in. Started off tame enough but before lovng we were all rowdy and merry and had created a drinking game spontaneously called 'The desert'. Haha maybe ill explain the rules when i get home buit it was so much fun.

As we went to leave, a cake was brought out and nick was too impatient to wait for a knife so he dove into the cake with his hand, ala my last birthday (im sure youll remember mum.). All desperate not to miss out on a peice we all abandoned protocol and followed suit.

Before long a raucious food fight had broken out, food was flinging everwhere it was quite a sight, i ducked out relatively buffet free but zak and tood werent so lucky. Covered head to toe in some strange chinese dishes, we all did our best to wash up and went out to a club. Without a shower mind you. Poor waitresses must hate us white devils, and not woithout reason. Zak left his glasses behind and had to do the walk of shame back there later, with the death stares of the waitresses upon him.

So that was fun

Then last night, Johnny and Beth signed the marriage papers, making them legally man and wife, though the ceremony is not until next year. So we all went out to another fancy resdtaurant, though this time beths parents were there so it was a tad more sedated. It's so interesting to have dinner with chinese people, they are always so polite and kind and generous and keep filling your glass etc. And dinner in China is always a fun affair because its so communal, theres a big lazy suisan in the middle of the table and everyone just picks at it bit by bit.

The weather is cooling down slowly, after a nice warm summer were in the Autumn now, which im told lasts around 2 weeks before blistering cold sets in. I'm looking forward to that...

3 Weeks left until i finish my contract, then im hangiong around for a little while and heading south!!! do a bit of travelling, see the country as well as a few friends that are scattered around. First to Shenyang, to see some friends from the summer camp i did, then south to HAngzhoui to work for a little doing part time work. Stay there for a few weeks, then a hop skip and jump to Wenzhou, toi viosit Lucas's parents who are over here teaching. Then south further to Xiamen, to visit an old buddy from HArbin whos living there now. A little bit further south is Guanzhou, to visit other firends and then to Hong kong and home!

Love you all

Ah, another week gone by, another week of smog in my lungs.

So im settled into teaching, well settling into teaching i should say. I have my hiccups still but the intial nerves are over and i do ok now. I've been doing some hour classes in the ecvenings and on weekends, a little harder but not so bad.

My schools good, they're all good people here and very helpful. I think i mentioned in an earlier posting that i go around to classes and do a short lesson,. well that is good let me tell you. I always have a chinese teacher in the room to control the kids if they get out of hand, which is not that ofter but it happens. Once you start losing control the others smell fear (as dave put it so well) and feed upon the carcass of your so well planned lesson.

Its so windy now, the cold is less intense but the wind chill is painful, creeps in through every gap and chills you. I wanna fly a kite.

Had a bit of a chance to look around my area, found some hhhuuuggge shops, underground markets that my friend Cherylynne in Guanzhou told me about that got for at least a mile, all underground divided into hundreds of little stores with everything you can imagine.

Im still broke, get my paycheck on the 28th which will grand. Not all roses though, i still have some things to pay before i can go crazy. One thing i do plan to buy is a playstation 2, then ammount of games here is absurd, all around 3 quai each, so about 50c.

I mentioned about the roads in my last one. They are crazy here, in australia there would be stabbing every few seconds if people drove like they do here but in china everyone is cool with it and road rage is a rare thing. Got a mushroom to schol today, its a motorbike with a box built around it pretty much, you can see the bitumen through the rust holes in the floor.

Anyone with any photos i would like, i would be so thankful if you could send them to me. Well i have to go, eat some bout szu for lunch. MMM dumplings. I'm learning chinese, well a little, i knw how to count and haggle, say thankyou, please, and all the the ones like goodbye etc.

Love.

P.s my lady on the stairs is gone!!! i hope shes ok.

MY postal address is

Aitong school
15 Xiang Qing Lu
Xiang fang District
Haerbin, Heilng Jian, China

Put my name on the envelope somewhere because thats my school address. But dont send me anything yet, i will ask mum to post me a trial letter to see if the chinese postman are good.

There is so much beauty, and yet so much ugliness in china. The terraced farms and cottages in the country are wonderful, and the people are all so kind. I met a Kind little chinese man in a garden who played the violin. He played traditional chinese music, and to here it coming of a traditionally western instrument was strange and eerie and enchanting all at once. He was very kind, and taught me some words in mandarin. At times you just look a certain direction down a lane, or into a garden, and you see china at its best.

On the flip side of that, there is so much poverty and squalor it is in places appalling. I took a picture of a high density housing complex situated right next to a canal, as soon as i can i will upload it. The state of the canal is wretched, the locals simply dump there waste, faeces, food scraps and litter straight in there, and the smell makes you dry reach.

I have only seen a little of the country, but from what i have seen i think i will like it here. Once i have a little better grasp of the language and customs, I'm sure things will be better.

To all those at home, i love you and miss you so much. Life isn't the same, when you go from being surrounded by the friends and family you love, to be surrounded by millions of strangers without the slightest clue as to what your saying.

Take care all.
Tom

P.s. I feel like harry potter whenh i walk down the street, all the stares i get is sometimes unnerving.