1-2 Sep 08
Orientation and admin with Wang Haiyuan, who appears to be our liaison man and who has been very helpful. All joining admin has been completed painlessly and efficiently. Having been warned that we would be lucky to receive our travel expenses we received cash into our hot little hands after less than a half hour. Would have been much more bureaucracy in UK. Food very cheap in local hole-in-wall type cafes (Ł1-00 roughly for a filling, if not exotic, noodles and something).

Power probably buys privilege, as everywhere, but first impression is that there is little social mobility once put into the initial slot. Access to education would appear mostly based on merit, but with no second chances. Any failure of exams seems to imply sudden death! Ratio of girls to boys seems to be about 5 to 1 at SISU. How far this reflects the type of university (engineering centres would probably have more boys) I’m not sure. It will be interesting to find out.

4 Sep 08
Visited Ciqikou Ancient Town. Touristy in a Chinese way - no English menus in restaurant (no menus at all so far as was obvious). Fascinating, but run down. By the Jialing River, in which I would not wish to swim!

6 Sep 08
Into Shapingba with Wang to buy cell-phone and trousers etc. He is extremely generous; does assume one’s need for Western things, so lunched in a KFC outfit - tried to urge me to have a slab of battered pork, ugh! Incessant cacophony the major feature; piped music on top of piped music and hordes of people all jabbering away to beat the band. Oh for a sail on an empty sea.

11 Sep 08
For the time being I am teaching just 2nd year classes, but will take on several more 1st year classes (freshmen) when they have completed the initial “military” training that all new university students apparently have to undertake. I’m not sure how military it really is, but suspect that it’s more about achieving levels of physical fitness and discipline. On the whole an idea that some UK youngsters might find beneficial, perhaps. One of my present classes is fairly placid, the other full of live-wires who need more in the way of control, but who, on the other hand, offer more back, for which reason they are more satisfying to teach. On the whole they have been very well behaved so far, so the level of apprehension is beginning to decrease.

We teachers attended a “banquet” last night, arranged by the University, at one of the few Western style hotels in Shapingba, to celebrate “Teachers’ Day”. We were picked up at 1815 (my last class only finished at 1800, so no time to shower or change; the clothing was smart enough, but my neighbours might have appreciated my having had a shower first!). We started a very sumptuous buffet at about 1900 (no wine, but plenty of beer). At 2000 we were informed the bus was waiting to return to the University, which certainly helped to avoid overeating, but cut short on getting to meet people. One of the teachers who had intended following on to the banquet by taxi when his last class finished at 2030 was astonished to see us already back!

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