The youngest students in the world.

I have just finished a course in a kindergarten 'teaching' a group of 15 month to 24 month old (babies is the only word to use).Not only were they the youngest that I have ever taught,but by far the cutest. As my own children are far away at the moment, it did cheer me up to spend time with these kids.
I begin my real job on the 1st of August,which I am really looking forward to.I will be responsible for developing the curriculum for mainly primary schools and will still do some teaching as well.The money is good, and only 20 hours a week.This means I can teach adults a few evenings a week as well.
My acclimatisation to the heat here has been slow.I still find that unless I nip into a shop after 10 mins then I am soaked to the skin, this seems to affect the locals as well. Friday today,my biggest battle is to stay out of the pub(nothing wrong with sitting outside though!).

u.k. today- Girl stabbed during school break

BBC NEWS | England | Gloucestershire | Girl stabbed during school break

A 13-year-old girl has been stabbed outside a school in South Gloucestershire.

The teenager was taken to hospital with injuries to her abdomen but these are not believed to be life-threatening........

39 floors up.

This is the view from the apartment that my friend has kindly let me stay in.

victoria park-causeway bay-hongkong

I got up early this morning and went to the park at 7am, and tried to read the paper, but I was distracted.

more tai chi

tai chi 7am this morning

day 3 hong kong

Day 3 hong kong.
Arrived on Saturday at 5pm after the most
horrendous flight.the pilot warned us at Gatwick
that there would be turbulence most of the
way-and he wasnt joking!It was a bit like being
on the bus up to my wifes place in the
mountains.sleep was out of the question,so was
drinking to keep my mind off impending
disaster-Beer was £3 a can.fully stressed and
shaken after 12 hours of being shaken and scared
the crap out of,we thankfully landed.I was in the
pub by 8pm, and managed to calm myself down with
the help of a few beers!
It is bloody hot here.33c and very high
humidity.barcelona weather is but a
distant,pleasant memory.I knew it would be tough
arriving at this time of year-and it is.it has
been great seeing so many familiar faces,and
catching up with the latest goss.more later.

gatwick

Arrived at gatwick quite early,checked in and
went off in search of smoking area.after I had my
smoke,I thought I would take some pics of planes
for the boys and send them via mms.got some good
pics and sent them.the a police van turned up and
gave the inquisition.what are you
doing?why?passport...etc they were friendly,and
only doing their job-but that is a sign of the times.

Jeff and Lynsey with Jack

7.7.7 (at 7pm)

I'm not too sure if this is a lucky date in the Chinese calendar, but it probably is. Anyway, if you are around(in Hong Kong) at 7pm on 7.7.7, come and have a few swifties-you know where.

london-july3rd

Spain v Hong Kong

Barcelona is a great city,it is truly an international city.Whilst doing the Celta I taught Spanish,Catalans,Argentinians,Brazilians,Russians,Chileans,Ecuadorians,Lithuanians,Poles and a Japanese. The teachers I met whilst there were really nice too.The people are remarkably friendly, genuine and open-very refreshing. Barcelona is a great environment for kids,but..... The money doesn't quite add up.International House pretty much offered us all the chance to work with them either in Spain or elsewhere. After tax etc, a full time teacher can expect to bring home about 1000 Euros or £750 per month.This is at a top respected school. Rent starts from about 600 euros per month, and the cost of living is the same,or more than London(and much more than Hong Kong). For me, this is not a viable option. Barcelona also has an endemic street theft problem, although street violence is seldom heard of. The money part puzzles me, as local people don't appear to be as downtrodden as people in the UK. Possibly this imbalance will change in future years, I would like the idea of spending a couple of years there with the kids, to teach them how to chill out, and appreciate life the Spanish/Catalan way.

summertime in the UK

Wimbledon, strawberries, long long days,........non-stop rain,floods, bombs,heightened security,teenagers fighting pitched battles outside your house(Friday night outside my house).Don't you miss it?