Things here are still going well, although the novelty of my being foreign has certainly worn off with my students. This means I now have to survive only on them thinking I'm 'handsome' and them liking me for not setting homework, or face being some kind of 'proper teacher'...
We're going to Kaifeng (a couple of hours east by bus) for the weekend for the 28th Annual Chrysanthemum Festival. Not that I'm into flowers particularly, but it sounds like as good a time as any to visit somewhere new. We're going to be CouchSurfing with a Chinese lady who lives near the centre. I say 'couch-surfing', she's got a spare room with a bed for two in it., for free, and available tonight.
It's probably just as well that we're leaving Zhengzhou overnight. Last weekend, when we were in town exploring the centre (photos below), we saw a mini demonstration by students against Japan. It was the anniversary of the especially brutal Rape of Nanjing. It passed by fairly peacefully, and you only knew about it if you were there or spoke to someone who saw it all, although word is a shop selling Japanese stuff and a Japanese restaurant got smashed up. This weekend, however, it all going to hit the fan. Chinese fan, of course, There are bigger demonstration planned, a hangover from last weekend and this ongoing Fishing Boat Saga. We've been instructed not to go into the centre of town, and students have been confined to campus. Damage report on Monday.
Piccies from the centre of town, around Erqi Tower. I'm in Kaifeng if you need me :)
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