Update

Hey! It's working again! Somtimes it is impossible to get around the nation-wide block of certain sites, and this site in particular has been giving me a lot of trouble.

I've spent the last week in Yangshuo doing my orientation. It's a week long training course that is supposed to introduce you to the culture of china, basic teaching methodology, and help prepare your first few lessons. Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad they did not just throw me into a classroom with no preparation.

It is said that you will find more Westerners in Yangshou than anywhere in China besides Beijing. Considering the population of Yangshuo is about 100,000, this is a pretty big claim. It is a great city to be "introduced" to China because you don't get the stares that you get everywhere else. A fair amount of people know English, or at least enough English to help you buy what you need. (Compared to where I am now, where it took me 15 minutes to order noodles and beef, and as I was eating the entire restaurant stopped to stare at me.) It's a very beautiful city. Somewhere on the blog is a picture of it but I have no idea how to move it down here.

On Friday I found out that I am going to a primary school in Hanzhong, located in central China. I requested a secondary school in southern China, but after dealing with the ridiculous heat and humidity of Yangshuo I'm pretty happy with where I am.

Friday night Owen, the owner of Buckland, took us out for an amazing feast. In China, all the dishes are put in the middle and people just grab as they go. It's also a common occurrence to order about twice as much as you need. The food kept coming, and coming, and coming. It was delicious, too.

That's all for now. I'll try to update about traveling to Hanzhong and the first few days in Hanzhong later, but I need a nap.