My journey. Teaching in China and exploring the world. |
My journey. Teaching in China and exploring the world. |
AMAZING to see Woolmer and show him around where we live! And of course we stumbled across a secret bar whilst he was here... We live behind 'bar street' with LOTS of options of cuisine and bars from all over the world. And still.. it is full of surprises. Above a healthy eating restaurant, through a secret passage way is a 'secret bar'. This place is really quirky with classy chinese decor and a long list of drinks! Will definitely be back!
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A moments reflection as I go to and from work that we actually live in China and sometimes it is tough, but this view is a reminder of what an incredible place we are in - in the world and in our lives.
A parent of a girl I teach at school has her own fitness company, K2Fit and they do lots of work outs and classes in the city. This one was to raise money for the Wilber Foundation, a charity for the underprivileged children in GZ. It was fun but HOTand we were treated to a buffet breakfast and some bubbles after we had finished! The work out was good fun and ON A HELIPAD?!!! with amazing views out over the city, I will definitely do another one. Enjoy the photos with the knowledge that collectively we raised nearly £2000!
Off we went down to Foshan, about an hour out of the City, to enjoy our VIP passes to watch the Foshan Open. This course was stunning and you would not believe that you were in China, it was a very European looking course!
It was great to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, so calm and serene or being on the terrace enjoying our free food and drink all day! A great experience and would definitely go and watch the golf again... with the right perks!! The perks of being Head of Year 11 are paying off!! First Tanzania last year when I didn't have a tutor group and then now I have Y11's they are off on an equally incredible residential adventure!! So we are off to Kota Kinabalu and to venture off into the jungle as well as the Islands off the coast of Borneo, so exciting!! And I got to share the memories with my HOD and good friend Michelle which was even better...as well as the Y11 tutors and students of course!! Our first night we were in the city centre, before heading off the next day to our jungle camp for a long hike and a night hike too. There were so many insects and reptiles to see but unfortunately no Orangutang's! Sleeping in the jungle was eery and lots of weird and wonderful noises, but a really cool experience. The biggest celebration of survival was due to the students cooking us dinner that night!! Day 3: Off to another part of the jungle, for a shorter hike to a waterfall, which the students loved. We all went in and enjoyed the refreshing water after our sweaty hike! Day 4: White water rafting! This was great and the teachers got their own boat too. We did some body rafting as well down the rapids and enjoyed a picnic lunch at the end. I wish this excursion could have been a bit longer but I think we would have all fried!! Day 5: Off we went on a speedboat to an Island off the coast of KK. It was quite touristy but so beautiful and chilled as we snorkelled and made sand sculptures. Day 6: Our last day we went to Langkawi Wildlife Park which was ok, mainly because I saw some Orangutang's But largely a filler of a day before we went to the airport... via a chocolate factory, where we made our own chocolates! A great trip had by all, and lovely to get to know the students even more. I will miss the trip opportunity here... but look forward to the next one in November before hoping my new job in September will have good trips!!
Kat and I organised a day full of treats to celebrate lovely Kate's 30th birthday! It started with a brunch at mine, before heading off to a craft workshop where we did candle making! This was really fun and you could buy drinks and jewellery and things here which was excellent. Something different, creative and nice to do altogether. We are definitely going to go back and make something else soon... And then we headed for Afternoon Tea at the Park Hyatt hotel, which was so lovely and had beautiful views over the City and free flow prosecco!! A great day out in GZ celebrating!!
As a thank you from work, we had a table at the sports charity gala at the Sofitel. This included a 3 course meal and drinks and a good excuse to get dressed up rather than in PE kit and running clothes most of the time!
There was a charity auction, of which we won a chance to watch the mens championship pro golf tour at Foshan golf club and also to play a round on the 18-hole course there!! A more expensive night out than planned!! Great fun but not too heavy as was leading a school trip to Malaysia the next day... A lovely jog through the park and this is celebrating something...but not sure what!! And then a little relaxing treat, Kate found a deal on a facial and massage which was very welcomed after our stressful week away haha!
Ahhh and we arrived in paradise very early in the morning on Sunday to this absolute dream of a place. We are staying at the Frangipani Resort in the South West coast of the Island. It is super quiet and away from civilisation but at the same time an easy and quick walk to lots of restaurants, bars, shops etc. There are 2 pools, one of which we didn't go to...as the view from the pool by our room had this view... So can you blame us?! Langkawi was recommended as it had best of both, things to do as well as a lovely place to relax. Now I can only vouch for the latter as, don't judge us, but we did none of the tourist attractions!! I did however read 3 books and do some mindful colouring as well as running and swimming. Now that is what I call a proper holiday!! So I don't have much to say about the Island itself, apart from how beautiful it was and the places where we ate were great. It has a good variety of cuisines but the Malay food really is delicious and a lot cheaper too! Enjoy the photos...especially the sunset's which we could watch from our loungers, heavenly. The Frangipani ResortRestaurantsSunsetsExcellent week feeling ready for the long 11 week half term to Christmas holidays in Australia!!
As we make our way around some of the nicest hotels in the world.. where better to stay to celebrate Matt's 29th birthday but the Four Seasons Hotel in Guangzhou at the top of the IFC. And to top it off, it is the start of our half term break!! Breathtaking views across the city in the river view room we had and all the luxuries you would expect from the 5 star hotel. And a few extra perks as we found out that Matt teaches the hotel managers daughter who spotted us in the lift and told her dad!! Excellent!! CatchReservations on the 101st floor at the seafood restaurant did not disappoint with wine and food being absolutely incredible!! SaturdayBefore we checked out for our flight that evening to Langkawi, we enjoyed making use of the pool and spa. And enjoyed a lovely sunny day (without the humidity!) getting lunch at the new Sunshine Cafe near our building.
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