It has been a few weeks now, since I arrived in Zhongshan. Sometimes it seems that much more time has already passed, sometimes, it feels like I had my first class yesterday. The pictures hopefully give some idea about the scenery of the school, the office and my rooms, soon, I will add more photos of the city.

But, let’s first take some time to introduce the main players of the game! Sven, my Dutch buddy from Shenyang has followed me here (he will deny this) from Shenyang (after some milkshake-persuasions, but he will deny that too) and has been a great friend ever since. He would have liked to go to Sichuan instead, but perhaps next year, his friends (Tom and Ollie, who are now working there) can come and work here! Until then, I think he’s pretty well off being where he is. He seems to enjoy it anyway ;) .

Now, to give you the whole story, actually, I was not the first to come to Zhongshan, I followed Helen here. I met Helen, a Scottish lady with a lot of energy, in Beijing during the TEFL course in February. When I moved to Shenyang (cold and grey), she was placed in Zhongshan (warm and green). When Helen asked me to move down here, and even helped me find a job, I went! So far, it has turned out to be a very good suggestion from a very good friend.

Then, there is Rachael. The fourth musketeer, the group’s d’Artagnan so to say, is the youngest member, joining us old familiars here in Zhongshan. This is also her first time working in China (though she has done some volunteering work) but so far, it seems to work out very nice for her. She has a yes-girl attitude, and takes on all the problems that living and working in China can bring head-on, helped by her nice sense of humour and strong mind.

That’s enough sweet talking, I’m sure you, my reader, get the message I am trying to send here. On a social level, I’m pretty blessed here. And I haven’t even mentioned the ‘guys’ at the office yet! Bob, Jerry, Abey, Tony, Sheila, Rico, Kenneth, Cathleen, Steven, and let’s not forget ms. Christine (the boss-lady). So many stories yet to tell…

These first weeks have been very eventful. We’ve had many a fancy dinner with the school, colleagues and Helen and Rachael. We’ve had a six-star all you can eat with Bob, and we’ve had backstreet barbeque with Jerry. We were on the “Zhongshan through the eyes of foreigners photo contest kick-off tour”. We have explored backstreet markets and had lots of coffee and McDonalds. And, of course, we’ve been working! So, not much time for blogging I’m afraid, but I’ll try to keep up with Sven… (sveninchina.reismee.nl) He’s made a very nice overview of our daily routine here, for those of you who are interested!

Ps. The results of the Photo-competition have not been announced yet…