I'm pretty upset at the moment.

This news will only be relevent to those who went to Island School in Hong Kong, but Mark Lemetti - he was in Fleming - was found dead in Thailand this weekend. The news is on the BBC website (thank you Vicky for the email). In short he was robbed and killed whilst travelling.

He was a really good friend back in school and we went to the dinner-dance together. Though we haven't been in touch recently I really am very upset.

Helllooooooooooooooo

Still alive!

The weekend was really hectic. I've had so many new classes starting (plus one I forgot about until the last second - that was hilarious! Inspiration at the last minute.... that was my lesson plan on Sunday evening. hahahaa).

Otherwise, good, must go teach! Will write more facinating things later...
Cath xxx

Despite a night out with Brooke (the flatmate) and Lisa (the Belgian), I'm remarkably refreshed this morning. Admittedly though, I've turned into a bit of a lightweight since I've been here and I can't manage to have as much drink as I used to (Amar, you would be disgusted if you could see me now).

LAST DAY OF THE SUMMER TOMORROW. Whoooohoo.

To celebrate the end of yet another course, we've got a day-out with the whole shcool tomorrow. We're avoiding the madness of last month's plan of bringing the kids to Nanshan, so instead are heading to a 5-star hotel, for a bit of lunch and hanging out by the pool.

A much saner decision - thank-you marketing team.

So tomorrow I'll be out at the Tarim Hotel all day and probably not posting on here.

Hmm, speaking of which - I need to buy a swimsuit. Dearie... my shopping options out here are going to be sooooooo attractive.

Aiieeeeeeee.

Yoga might be hard, but aerobics is just plain pants. Pants pants pants. I'm not doing that again.

So, yeah, in general, my news is that I tried to go to the gym again.

Guys, c'mon. I just can't envision this becoming a routine.... how did I ever go to the gym regularly, even way back when? How does anyone??? Hooooowwwwwww?

This is my last Monday off, next week my days off move to Thursday and Fridays, and so from next week I probably won't be posting on Thursdays and Fridays (we'll see). The days are changing because we have finally come to the end of the summer school. I find it hard to believe that the worst is now over, but also that I've only been here for 3 months. It feels like a hell of a lot longer! In a good way!

Anyway, I'm in work today, despite it being my day off becuase
1. There's a better internet connection at work, adn it's only 12 minutes walk from teh house
2. There's airconditioning here
3. I kinda need to get some other paperwork done too... (last priority :)

Actually it's still no that hot in Urumqi at the moment. About 18C today.

Also, Matt's back in town, which does liven things up a bit, but having said that he's pretty busy with work too. having been away for two weeks.

Right, perhaps I should start that aforementioned paperwork...

Cath xxx

Yoga is hard. Very hard.

I made it to the gym two days ago, and I'm hurting a little now.... but it is definitely due to the Yoga class. I've never done one before, and I hear that it was (apparently) one of the more energetic forms of Yoga. I now understand why people do Yoga in classes - it is so reassuring when other people fall down trying to assume the "tree postion" too.....

China provides a real contrast to my Yoga presumptions as well. There were more men than women in the class - and half of the blokes were huge body building types. Eye-opening!

Otherwise, I've been really busy prepping for the school preformance day at the end of next week. In particular I've been working a lot with one of my classes of teenagers, where we're doing a pop-y dance to "Where is the Love?".... (we are really something to see, hahahaa).

We were even practicing outdoors, in the People's square yesterday - alongside the other mad groups of dancers, who just hang out in the square, morning, noon and night dancing in public for exercise (from ballroom to Tai Chi). starting my own little group of dancers with a boombox was my attempt to 'go-native'.

Am good! Chat soon,
Cath xxx

Woah.....

It rained last night here in teh city and I only just had a look at the mountains out of the window - there's now snow over the entire mountian range!

There was only snow on the tallest peak yesterday (Bogda Feng)!
It snowed!
Over the entire range!
In AUGUST! (this is blowing my mind)

Morning again, hurrah, only one week left of the summer course to go. OK, whilst that would normally be an incredibly exciting thing, I do have a killer corporate-English class starting in September... so that's dampened my fantasies of relaxing and being idle for the next four months.

Well, I managed to have a thoroughly indulgent shopping expedition yesterday. Tina, one of our Sales Consultant’s is having her wedding on Sunday and in that culturally weird way, the rest of the staff is invited. However, I actually like Tina a lot, so it should be good fun.

And it's a good excuse to purchase cute, but slightly impractical, outfits. (and shooesss)

I also joined the gym at the Hotel round the corner (did I mention that already?) where I used to teach. However, I'm still on a mission to get out of school so that I can go use it. *Today is the day* - it will happen!

Unless...

David and Rhonda distract me into another coffee session at The Vine this afternoon.

We'll see.

COMPUTER VIRUS

Warning, some of the others at work have had this problem from their online email services: if you get an email from me simply headlined "PHOTOS", do not open it. It is a virus called MYDOOM.

I haven't heard from anyone receiving such an email from me yet, but it might happen.

Morning...

Today is revenge of the teacher.

Yesterday my little shites of a beginner's teenager class reached new levels of bastardly-ness. Honestly, I don't often get hardline with my classes (hey, it's only language - it should be a chilled out affair) but these kids are a little troop from hell.

Soooo what else can one do, but..... spring a surprise test, on everything they have been taught this course, AND threaten to call their parents if they get a poor mark before the test starts (Chinese parents are something to fear, the threat alone is very useful).

Mwwahhh ha ha haaaaa.

The phone doesn't seem to stop ringing at work this morning.

(and I think my tactic of not answering it isn't helping matters. Don't judge - it's an internal phone, they can shift their ass and visit the staffroom if it's really that important)

Ahhhhh, lie in.

It's now the afternoon, so I've just gotten up (but reeeeeally it's only 10am Xinjiang time, so not so bad).

I'm off to see Rhonda for coffees today, down at the poshy-coffee "Eversun". I'm looking forward to it, Rhonda's super fab - a Canadian girl teaching at one of the local primary schools - and has just returned from a holiday in Thailand.

And that's my plan.
Coffee, and perhaps a bit of a shop after that.

Yay.

My massive collection of photos is finally online. FINALLY.

You all should have received an invite to see them by now.
You need to email to access the photos, on the new site I've choosen. If you haven't recieved the email, write to me and I'll email you again.

God that took a long time.

Sundays are my early start days at school, at around 10am. So this posting is going up a little later then usual today.

The office is dead now, everyone is either at home or teaching. I was going to head home around 6:30pm, but loads of people are off sick, so it looks like I'll have to stayuntil 9:30pm overing odd jobs. Poo. No one can really be blamed for that, but I'm still not in the best of moods because of unexpectedly having to work late.

At least tomorrow is my day off... it could be worse.

On a tanget, I have a lot of dead time during the day at the moment, starting early and finishing late... So I've decided it's definitely time to find a hobby. I'm toying between joining the gym (which has a steam room, and that will be very nice in the winter) or something more productive (i.e. putting some effort into learning Chinese, but I'm simply not motivated at the moment... so I feel I that might not get off the ground).

I was also thinking of trying to practice my writing... that's another thought.

Ehhhhhh decisions. Perhaps I need a goal... becoming a supreme rollerblader through practicing in my apartment?

(can anyone tell I'm a bit bored today?) hahahaha.

Ooo, people have just emerged into the staffroom. Time to go and persude someone to help me with some of the work overload on tonight (fat chance - but you NEVER know.. hahaha)

Chat to you all after my day off!
Cath xxx

Still Saturday - I'm now back from my class, which wasn't such a disaster, had the kids doing some hop-scotch days-of-the-week thing. Trust me, it worked. I was also watching the replay of the Olymics opening ceremony - not at the same time, and no, I didn't go out of my way to watch it either... it was on a TV in the corner at the place I had lunch.

(Suuuuuure it was Cath)

Watching the Olymics makes me wonder what is going on in the world outside (only for a second, mind, I did move out here for a reason. Crazy planet).

I don't see news anymore.

Ok, that's only a half-truth, there is the odd Guardian weekly lying around Matt's house that I read - plus, I have worldy-exposure through sport with the ever entertaining Desmond on CCTV 9.

Anyone who has watched TV in China will, without a doubt, empathise with the morbid-curious pain of Sports Scene (well, really, the morbid-curious pain of Desmond).

So the war's still happening eh?

Traa laa laah.

Not much time today. I'm in the middle of a disasterous lesson plan, which really needs salvation, but salvation is not forthcoming this morning. Even after coffee... I've got as far as deciding to throw a birthday party for the dog on a flashcard.

We can sing to the flashcard.

They're going to be thrilled with that one.
Oh save me.

Must go think harder... teaching block. erruuugh.

Ok, I've been playing a bit here, bit if thing are going according to cunning plan, teh blog should look very different now. And you can add comments... be nice.

I've started sweeping the apartment on rollerblades.

At least that's one way to get some use out of them. It's kinda fun, only challenging when you have to stop and brush everything into the dustpan.

That's what happens when I get left to my own devices.

Anyway, work is going to be busy today. I have to have a meeting with the parents of two students I'm going to fail (JOY! What FUN for the afternoon!). Ehhhhhhhhhhh. Oh well, they're both so bad that it can't be a surprise to them...

Other than that, yeah, teaching. Speaking of which, I've got teacher's block today - I've got a class in an hour and I can't for the life of me think of something new for them to do (with the present continous, if anyone cares). Good old google will come up with something... there's got to be something useable online....

I'm off to surf.

Also, Happy b'day Ian! (our school's DoS)

Cath xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I have just spent a ridiclous amount of money on a pair of rollerblades.

Urumqi is only ice-free for about 4 months in the year. The purchase makes little sense; and it's all starting to dawn on me...

OK people, I've been overcome with an overwhelming sense of productivity and desire to communicate. So, from now on (famous last words) I'm going to try and write a little blurb on this weblog daily (except Mondays, becuase I can't be arsed to come into school on my day off).

TIME...
Today is day-lite for me. Only an hour of teaching today (yes, I love being a teacher).

Though I do have odds and ends to do at work. That's all fine, as Matt is out of town, I have quite a lot of time on my hands right now...

(I'm back to square one, where everyone I know is coupled-up and I'm wandering round looking for things to do on my own; or for a stray Urumqi-person who fancies going for coffee).

WORK...
I feel like I've got my fingers in a million pies at the moment.

Firstly, teaching is going well, but this month I have a lot of teenager classes... teenagers who have been sent by Mum and Dad to go learn expensive English. DUDE. They're teenagers to START with, they have attitude regardless, but when they're forced to learn English on top - attitude. Attitude.

And a lot of staring at the floor avoiding your gaze (if only I had the ability to remember their names... then I could pick on them... oh well, one day).

Secondly, There's a lot of admin changes going on. In about two and half weeks half of the team of teachers here are leaving, to be replaced by new-comers. So the teaching schdule and generall settling-in duties are in various stages of chaos.

Somewhere in there I'm meant to be designing a course and starting to create an intranet for the school. Me? Intranet? I know, it's not a pretty concept, I'm sure we'll all fare poorly as a result of this unwise delegation of responsibility.

Right, time to go and loiter in the staffroom.
Apparently there's apple pie somewhere in there...

Cath xxxxx

Ok, I've been a dumb arse, the article isn't going to be online until September... so don't worry if you can't see it. You'll definitely be able to in Sept!

www.insideoutmag.com

One week down of August. Ok, the light-hours that I thought I'd be teaching this month are a little higher than I expected, but still, they're not bad.

Otherwise, I'm finally over my bout of food poisoning from about two weeks ago. As unpleasent as it was, it has undeniably helped me manage my ever-mounting ice-cream-addiction, which was starting to create the beginnings of a possible weight issue.

Anyway, possible problem solved... hahaha. What can I say? I'm still a girl, and girls can generally see the 'bright side' of the occasional food poisoning episode...

Seriously, hmm. I can't gossip on this site anymore, too many people have free access to reading it now. Oh well... what CAN I say? Err, Happy Birthday Margo!

News? Tomorrow (Monday) is my day off, yay. So I'm off to indulge in what I do best at the moment - go sit and have coffee and cake. I'm going to have a bit of an exploration tomorrow: I'll be straying from my usual coffee-drinking holes (Eversun Coffee or The Vine) and I''ll have a coffee at the Hoi Tak hotel (argueably the best hotel in Urumqi - it's either the Hoi Tak or the Hong Shan). That is my grand plan for the day, I can't be arsed to do anything else.

Oh, I also finally mopped my flat today (tragically, this is news). It's the second time in the short lifespan of the sixth-floor-flat-under-the-care-of-Cath that the place as been mopped. Yes, it was needed (thanks Mike H for the first mopping). I've come to the conclusion that not only is mopping is good... but it isn't quite as hard as I thought... (I had reckoned that the filling of buckets, the trying not to mop yourself into a corner, the sad futile-feeling when you think you're only just sloshing around grey water without achieving any hygine goals, made mopping a depressing activity worthy of procrastinating against).

Not true. Ok, my cleaning job might not win any hygine awards, but it looks fab now.

Hmm. I'm talking about mopping... I've really got to get myself another more covert blog where I can gossip non-stop.

Otherwise - doing well! Alive! It's raining here though - and rain here always confuses me immensely. Am I living in the desert?

Also, my toliet is backed-up. This makes me sad, as well as being rather inconvinent (I can't spell, this is sometimes inconvinent too). I blame Brooke. Tomorrow the plumber will arrive... thank god.

Oh, I've also been informed that my article won't be online until next month... I think. Ahh, it's the same site. Check it then... I don't really understand...
Loadsa love
Cath xxx