Worrying...

My flight is scheduled to arrive into London Heathrow at tomorrow (15.20 GMT)

"Fog paralyses London's Heathrow airport" Reuters
"Further misery for air travellers" Guardian
"Christmas cancelled for stranded travellers" CNN

So I checked the airline's website to see what was happening with my flight...

"Timetable - Valid from 30th October 2005 - 25th Mar 2006"

... worrying ...

Coming back to the UK

For a few days I'm coming back to the UK

Somehow I've accidently lost a week of my life, and I've realised my flight is in 36 hours. I haven't washed my clothes, haven't asked anyone to pick me up from the airport, have no idea what my plans are going to be....

... I just know I'm going home...

I arrive on the 23rd (about 3pm ish - 2hrs either way) then fly back on the 27th (or maybe the 28th).

if you want to meet up, email me or contact my home :)

Learnt from China 1: Personal Relationships

There are some cultural differences about China that many people know - but it's difficult to see the practical implications of these differences until you really experience them, for example:

"Personal relationships are really important in China"

But how do you do this? Months of successes and mistakes in doing this have led to one key learning: you need to spend an intense amount of time building these relationships. For example, if you have a new team of uni students around you, before you do any work maybe you should...

... start off by getting them together and do something unusual with them (like fishing, cooking together, going to the great wall of china) ...

... then maybe over dinner you can share some personal things about yourself, so that the group feels more open to sharing, then you can start discussing what they are like, what their families are like, what they're passionate about, and share their dreams. This builds a sense of trust and family, so after this (and maybe some karaoke!) ...

... and then you can start to work together - hopefully with a happier relationship with people who are more willing to help you get results.

Knowing that 'personal relationships are important' is useful info, but knowing how to build personal relationships is key. It's a bit different to what usually happens in Europe!

6 months in China

a lot has happened in 6 months in China...

... I've started to understand the massive cultural differences shown in simple activities: Chinese university parties usually involve sharing dinner and perhaps karaoke (KTV), instead of drinking in a pub then going to a club ...

... we've had team bonding on the great wall of China ...

... we've spent time with our team: like spending the night roasting a lamb over an open fire, young people from 6 different countries around the world, chatting until the early hours of the morning ...

... I've starting to understand how China's past influences it's present: how Confucius thoughts influences the deaths of baby girls in rural areas of China, and how the change people saw during the Cultural Revolution results in the Chinese youth of today rarely asking “How are you?” ...

... while watching a giant communist country rapidly integrate into the world around it ...

Living here has been difficult. Not knowing the language means I can't ask for help in a shop,
the difference in cultures means a difference in how I can disagree with those around me, the transport congestion means some of us regularly get stuck in traffic, we can see the pollution in the air every day from our apartment window, while trying to overcome social stigmas around certain areas of our work means that life here is difficult, it can be tough.

It's been a big challenge and recently there's been a lot of pressure.
I'm overworked and underpaid, but happy.

And thats the most important thing.
I'm happy.

3am. Time for bed.
Goodnight China.