So, July the 4th has just passed once again. The 'great state' celebrating its independence and freedom, and giving thanks to retired military that have fought for their government....sorry.....'country', in order to gain the 'freedom' that they enjoy today.

Chongqing-Jiuzhaigou-Changjiang

"Wow, I haven't heard from you in a while", was my first reply to a Wechat message that popped up from my old boss. She's a Chinese lady with excellent English, but she was fired from our school for getting herself involved in a rather stupid scam that had been organised by rich parents with no brains, but that's another story. Apparently she now owns and operates a Training School. We always got on well.

Jenny and I sat at the lunch table in the refectory area of the university in China where I worked as an English teacher. Our conversation together was rather stilted, as neither of us understood the other person’s language. But we did a lot of grinning and gesticulating, that seemed to have the desired effect. Two pairs of impassioned eyes meeting, staring poignantly into eachother's soul, are arguably all that's needed for the most indepth conversation of all time. I sensed there was something special about this enigmatic lady. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, even as the hairs on my arms bristled.  Where would it lead?

My eyes flicker open. I awake in a bed that I have never slept in before. A young Chinese woman is above me. Where am I?

Inside was cool, quiet, and fuggy. Perhaps too quiet and too fuggy. But what did I expect? It was a nursing home, not a nursery school. No one was supposed to run around, tug your coat, and make funny faces at you.

After the publication of my previous blog,(So You Wanna Learn English), I was asked what was the point of writing it?

My first haircut in China

After learning about my upcoming trip to Hungary, someone asked me if I could take some money to her mother. The bank fees were too high, she told me, and the amount in question wasn’t enough to pay a hefty fee on.

I first met Jenny whilst working as an English teacher in Leshan in Sichuan Province, China in 2016.  She was a dance leader, that is, several evenings per week, she and a group of followers would street dance for one to two hours, a wonderful tradition within much of China. Western countries are much the worse for not having such a unique, charming practise.