Close Encounters of the British Kind

Huzzah! I have met up with Tom, an English graduate from Birmingham who is teaching at the Number 2 Foreign Languages School in Zhengzhou. We met outside the trainstation which is the focal point of the whole city and is therefore chuffing massive. Simply getting to the train station was a bit daunting in itself as it would be the first time that I had been out of the school unnaccompanied. However it was not a problem as all busses that go into the city terminate at the station, so it was simply a case of jumping on one with plenty of time to rendez vous.

(Busses are the transport of choice for the teachers at the school. They stop about once every ten minutes and will reach the centre of the city in between 40 and 60 minutes, depending on the route. They are ridiculously cheap, 1 Yuan (7p) for a normal bus and 2 for the K Busses (with air-con). The bus is often full of characters, e.g. the driver I had on a particularly packed bus who became so irate with peoples unwillingness to move to the back to make space that he stood up and turned around to release an angry tirade, while driving)

Anywho, I succesfully met up with Tom, which was not a challenge despite the impressive crowd in the station square due to his height and lack of straight black hair. We then searched for a bar and ended up in a rather flashy hotel where we reluctantly handed over 15 Yuan for a bottle of Tsingtao and sat down in the restaurant to chat. He is from Birmingham, an English Literature graduate from York and came to Zhengzhou in late September. He speaks a little Chinese, enough to ask for directions or beer, which is about all you need. He could relate to my initial worries and also warned me of the annoyance that came with the increasing confidence of students. He had to leave at five as his school is not in the city itself and therefore requires a slightly more complicated Bus route than mine. On my return the school I went straight to t
he Grade 1 English Teachers' office to let them know I was safe and well.

It is such a bonus to have another English person of a similar age here and hopefully we will be able to do a bit of travelling on weekends and during the May Holiday together.

Last but not least, I have adapted to the time zone and am now sleeping well.