Category Archives: diary

A week off is a pretty rare thing for me, and 10 days off is almost unheard of, even if I did have a little left-over work (one-on-one students and the like) to take up some of that time. I … Continue reading →

It’s the holiday season in China now, with the three-day mid-autumn festival and the week-long national day festivities this year occurring within a week of each-other. Such are the joys of operating on a lunar and a western calendar at … Continue reading →

The traffic situation in Beijing seems to be at breaking point. If this sounds at all melodramatic, then have a look at this report which says that last Friday 140 roads were at a standstill. Roads here are big – … Continue reading →

I seem to be living in Tongzhou now. It’s still Beijing, just about, and the house we’re sharing with V’s family is simply amazing. There’s room for the five of us (plus the dog) to all have our own space … Continue reading →

It’s been a long, generally hot summer in Beijing, and I’ve been riding around on my bike, hatless, for much of it. As a result I’ve picked up a highly unfashionable tan. Chinese people usually want their skin to be … Continue reading →

Moving house is supposed to be one of the most stressful experiences in your life. I don’t really agree. This week my lifetime total of house moves reached 27, and I barely noticed, especially as this time I didn’t have … Continue reading →

This time last year I must have known that coming back to China was a big life move, even compared to all my previous travels, but I seem to have been too busy with writing my thesis, organizing my journey, … Continue reading →