Thursday 8 September Today we had a successful trip into Fuzhou as we needed a medical for our residence visa. Medical exam and then to the campus police to sort residence permission. As we came out it was the end of morning lectures (11.30 am) and time for lunch (officially 12.20 - 2pm). Throngs of students head out for the canteen. Meal times Meals, as well … [Read more...] about Settling down

Well it was with great joy that I met up with Graham at Hong Kong airport. Getting on the plane you could feel that you were getting deeper into a mono-culture that was totally Chinese. I think there were four 'foreigners' on the plane. On arrival in Fuzhou we were met by Smile, one of volunteers at the University, that we had both met before. He matches his name very well, … [Read more...] about Arriving in China

At last the day arrived for me to head out on my adventure to China. There have been so many things that just seemed to guide my path towards China; Peter living in Taiwan, having Chinese speaking grandchildren and so the list goes on. The final plus for my journey is that Peter came out for the weekend of the 20 August and I was able to fly back to Taiwan with him before … [Read more...] about First week in Jiali

Sitting quietly with Peter in his house this morning, I suddenly heard lots of noise - fireworks actually. It was a special occasion and the gods from the local temples were visiting each other. https://youtu.be/hLBbBhexmvY The religion here is a mix of 'folk religion' and Taoism. Look here  for interesting information of the religion in Taiwan. The concept of having a … [Read more...] about Temple procession in Jiali