Back in Yangshuo

When we got back to Owen College we met a huge number of new students and teachers. Many students come to the school for their summer holidays from school and university. Also many foreign teachers spend their holidays working at Owen College as the government schools close for the summer. We met a few more Aussies, some Americans and Frank, who is from Poland.

We began teaching full time the day after we arrived. Unfortunately Georgia came down with a nasty fever and had to take three days off teaching in our first week. She braved some traditional Chinese treatment and ended up with some impressive bruises to show for it.



Teaching full time is hard work. Each day we must plan five hours of teaching. Coming up with new ideas every day, with few guide lines from the school is very tiring. Aside from this, life is very laid back in Yangshuo. There are so many funky air-conditioned cafes to while away the hot afternoon hours in, and almost as many bars to choose from in the evening! The scenery is spectacular and the people and friendly and generous. All the students love to take every opportunity to talk to us and we are treated like royalty.

Not long after we returned to Yangshuo the American teachers at Owen put on a real show for the 4th of July Independence Day celebration. They prepared all types of western delicacies for the students to sample, like hamburgers, hotdogs, and salads. We even had a huge decorated cake which the students seemed to prefer to smear on each others faces than to eat. After the feast we set off fireworks in true American style.