Almost time for goodbyes for our Gappers in Ghana :(

I am very sad, we only have 3 more days of teahcing left and 5 more days left with our amazing family before we ventrue onto our 2 week travel around ghana! i am absolutely hating how fast this trip is going! it feels like yesterday we were teahcing under the palm tree introudcing ourselves, and now we are in our own classroom watching every single kid improve everyday!

So two weekends ago we went back to cape coast, none of the other girls are going to admit it but i will! We went back literally for the pancakes!!! all i crave here is pancakes! it is basically what we talked about the whole trip to cape coast! It was the first time ever we arrived at our accomdation before 3, so we were a bit lost what to do! so what better to do than shopping for ourselves, friends and family......mainly ourselves though! We really enjoyed eating dinner at the resturant when there was a blackout! I love not knowing what I was eating! they could have served us those massive snails and we would have not even known!
So basically, the aim on the weekends is to eat meat, because I am so meat deprived it is ridiculous, i even have dreams about chicken some nights!

On the saturday, we went to another castle called Elima castle, it was much bigger than cape coast castle. A couple of us just viewed it from the outside but some of the other girls went in for the full tour! They said it was really interesting and the oldest castle here.
On the saturday night, we were in for a treat. we went to the oasis beach resort for a drink and there was an african music and dance show! the dancing was so amazing! they just feel the rhythm and move to it! the music was so good, drumming and singing, we were all actually like, THIS IS AFRICA! To my surprise, they were actually really good actors and so theatrical telling a story through there movements!
Of course, me with all my luck, i got pulled up on stage, i tried so hard to get away but she was not taking no for an answer! she pushed me onto the middle of the stage with about 100 people watching me and made me copy her traditional dance moves! as embarassing as it was, it was kinda fun! the other girls were laughing at me the whole time, and all the locals probably saying "obruni's can not dance", i guess they are right though, i will not move to africa to take up dancing that is for sure!

We finished off a good weekend by taking the plastic cups from the resturant and feeling them with sachets of fanice icecream and mixing it with milo! it was so delicious!!!!
Funny moment of the weekend would have to be when my leaned back on her chair and fell off and another tourist said to her "drunk before 8 in the morning, good work". I laughed so hard :)


So the weekend that just passed, we hit up the beach resort Big Millies on the famous Ghana beack, Kokrobite! We decided that instead of going straight there after school on friday, we would make a detour to the biggest western supermarket in accra for some cheese! little did we know that this added on a extra 3-4 hours! Traffic in Accra equals HORRIBLE! first of all, when you are hoping in a tro tro when it stops, everyone just runs in a pushes in to get a seat. We just stood there are were like, there is no way we are taking people out just to get in the car! but it is ghana, and us girls had to be tough, so when the tro tro stopped, we sprinted and pushed our way around everyone and got a seat! i like to think that we are getting preety tuff in ghana haha!

It was dark when we arrived and of course there was a room stuff up so we had to have three people in a double room which i seriously did not mind as it would be cheaper! we were staying in these little mud brick huts, they were so cute! it was so funny, me, iona and my open the door to the bathroom looking for the light to turn on, to find that it was an outside bathroom! that was awkward! On the saturday, we just relaxed on the beach! we took my's braid out, so much for taking 2 hours it took 5! Mine took 4 hours to get out, so basically it takes as long to get out as to put in! its is so weird to see a massive bag of fake hair at the end and to think that that was all on your head!

Saturday night was one of the best nights we have had here! Big millies is known for its beach parties so we were all preety excitied! we got ready putting on makeup that we have not worn for 2 months! it was so funny, Iona puts on her base foundation and looks at me saying "does this look all right", i was like "you look like a ghost Iona", so i had to put my rusty makeup skills to work and make her skin look normal!

Saturday night was regae night and we all enjoyed drinking our african queen cocktails and $1.90 smirnoffs! we danced the night away to 3 am! letting our hair down and just having fun! it was so good to be surrounded with white people for a change, even though we had to dodge the few locals trying to dance close with us! Me, Iona and Maja, were trying to get a song requested for them to play, it is called "I need an african man", number one on the charts here, and Iona was telling a lady to ask them, and the lady thought that she wanted an african man and bought all these guys to her, it was so funny! It was one of our faviourite nights, just relaxing and dancing!

So now onto school updates......
me and my painted our murial on our classroom, it says "donated with love from madame maja and madame shannyn, volunteers 2011" inside an australian outline (which took us seriously two hours to perfect). we also painted letters and numbers in the classroom, and we cant belive how much it looks like a classroom now :) Sir patrick cannot stop saying thankyou to us, we can tell that he really appreciate it! we also have filled the classroom with posters, and paper men the kids have decorated and animal posters they made. we also got a clock, which helped me teach them the time as well, and the clock fell and smashed, and the kids were so devasted saying "nooo madame", literally crying! I absolutely love it how they appreciate the smallest of things like when they saw they got hooks for their bags, they were so so excited, jumping up and giving us hugs!

This week we heard a new quote, princess came up to me saying "madame i need to private", and i was like "what does that me" and porctia whispers "she needs to do number two madame". It is so funny how they tell us if they need to "urinate" or "private".
It is going to be so hard to leave these beautiful kids. Each one of them has improved so much and we have established such a strong connection with them! I am very excited to say that with some recent donations, we have enough money to by the kids some decent tables and chairs as the ones that they are using now are absolutely horrible for their backs and posture!
It is going to be a surprise for them on firday as long with some other gifts we have got them! I am going to miss them so much, i can easily go for another month or so!

an update from MA and Erin.....
"so classes at the orphange are going well, still often very frustrating but all worth it when you see the slightest improvement, a couple can now write the alphabet now HOORAY! the building of the classrooms is almost complete and the showerheads and toilets have been installed which is big talk with the kids this week. Everyone is quite happy and well although there is always the occasional sick kid around. we are getting really quick at teeth time and bath time which is good. the kids love our frequent bread and candy supply as they hardly eat much at all"

an update from Iona and Eliza....
"we have been doing the learning support and it been going really good, we are finally feeling settled in and we dont want it to end. we have been getting them books, pen, pencils, balls and skipping ropes to play with :)it will be really sad to go, we have formed a really good connection with the kids and we will miss them all except for hulk ( a kid that bit Eliza really hard)"

an updat from our host family life:
- Mum you will be preety proud to here, that my family taught me and maja how to cook jollof rice! I kep asking them for the exact amounts of everything, and they just looked at me and laughed telling me i have to feel how much to put in! Linda and George are going to put me and my to the test on saturday, and me and my are both really bad at cooking so i think they are going to be really dissapointed with the result!
- ghana tv is soooo bad, the acting is so horroble, think of neighbours and make it 100 times worse, so me and my found desperate housewives in the dvd pile and enjoy some american tv once in a while! it is sooo good :)
- I also feel preety bald now after taking my hair out, it was so depressing brusshiing my hair, chucks after chunks came out! i am not suprised i am bald!
- friday night we have a big dinner with all the families which will be really nice, but also so sad as we know we are leaving them on sunday!

I am getting so sad, why cant the placement be for longer!!!
well that is the update for the past 2 weeks, i shall speak to you agin in 2 more weeks
love shan xx

UniBreakers Settling into life in Nepal!

We all survived our arrival at Kathmandu, the city is a whirlwind of sounds, smells and sights which we all tried our best to explore in our limited time. With a map in one hand and the hotel address in the other we all set out to see the sights and managed to get lost many times along the way.

On the 26th of June we began our journey to Pokhara, 7 hours and 200 km later we reached our destination. During our travels we really learnt the meaning of traffic and potholes and were happy to finally get off the bus! We soon realised that Pokhara was much calmer than Kathmandu although it was still hot! The place is set in a valley of mountains and the main tourist spot is right on the Phewa Tal lake, a perfect spot to enjoy an afternoon beer or cruise out on the lake in a rowboat.

We caught some of the sights around Pokhara on our first day and were given a history lesson about Tibet and a Nepali language lesson. On the 27th we headed to meet our host families. We reached Tashiling Tibetan Refugee Village in the afternoon where we were paired off with our host Mums who came to collect us. We have since tried many traditional tastes and experienced a different way of life. We have been able to try traditional Tibetan tea made from butter, salt and milk and enjoy rice at every meal! Our host parents have definitely been making sure we eat enough, I have never eaten so much rice in my life so my dreams of loosing weight while staying in Nepal have been shattered, needless to say we are being well looked after.

Over our first week we have discovered our best squatting position and bucket showers have become the most refreshing part of the day, we have also realised that being in such a small village means that everyone knows everyone and word spreads fast! Our Tibetan language is developing and each day and night we have the opportunity to try it out on our hosts who are always very patient trying to decipher what we are saying.

Our working week began on Tuesday 28th June. All hospital volunteers were up and rearing to go by 7.30am and they soon discovered that the hospital is not quite as luxurious as our public system however they have all jumped in with enthusiasm. The teachers headed off for their first day and found that teaching English to children can be a grammar challenge when they start asking technical questions! Workers at the disability centre found that the kids were great fun but they had a time dodging snotty noses and the volunteers at the orphanage were busy keeping the children in check, playing games and keeping them entertained.

Just over a week into our placement and we are becoming accustomed to the Tibetan lifestyle, just like the Tibetans we can now be found hanging out the front of Sonam’s house swapping stories. There have been some illnesses adjusting to food and climate but our first weekend was spent paragliding and mountain hiking which helped alleviate any illness.

Our working week started on Sunday this week and I for one found it quite difficult to drag myself out of bed knowing it was Sunday morning but we all tackled the Sunday shift and started another week. The plans this week involve the Dalai Lama’s birthday tomorrow (Wed 6th July) where we get to enjoy the Tibetan culture and dress up in traditional dress. Thursday (7th July) we are off to the jungle heading to Chitwan National Park. We will stay for 2 nights and 3 days and hopefully get to ride an elephant, spot a rhino and maybe even a tiger if we are lucky. Back to the grind on Sunday 10th July!

1 week in and we are all adapting to the heat of the day and the pouring rain at night! We are discovering that this new way of life has many lessons to be learnt and many challenges to jump into, with plenty of rice in our bellies so far it is going well!

Our Gapper making progress at the Orphanage in India!

Give me five!
Five weeks down and we are still enjoying it to the full!! Every
day is a new experience and adventure. It is still incredibly hot in
Udaipur at the moment and we are really hanging out for some cooler
weather! This hopefully will be the case in a couple of weeks when
monsoon arrives.

A week and a bit ago we hit the 1 month check point on our amazing
adventure in India! During this week we did our normal teaching and
orphanage things which was great and extremely rewarding. At school some
of our kids began to say I am happy, without any help at all! One
little girl, Kema, who is about 2 years old and cried the whole first
week she came is joining in with activities and saying HAPPY! All the
time. We showed the new volunteers around town and went swimming
again, which was a great way to beat the heat! We also went to city
palace to the sun set terrace to watch the sunset and have some drinks
together! It was such a beautiful view!!!

After that we hit the 5 week mark, as every week goes by we dread that
our time in Udaipur is quickly ending! (even though we still have 7
more weeks) This week was much the same as the last, amazing and
exciting! We began to have more and more children come on a daily
basis and were getting up to 40 kids at a time! Which was a challenge
in itself! But we pushed through and taught them all new things and
had a lot of fun! We played cricket this week with the kids at
orphanage and they loved it!! they loved it even more when I bowled
George out! Scream didi yes!!! They call all the Australian volunteers
“Ricky ponting”. At the end of the week, both George and I went off
and explored different areas of India. I went to Jaipur with some of
the other volunteers and George went to Jodhpur with Amy and Ravi, to
the desert. They stayed with a tribal family over night and enjoyed a
camel safari in the morning.

Jaipur was an experience in itself, if you ever go to India its worth
a visit. We caught a sleeper bus to Jaipur over night, we was quite
night and they had actual beds!! Although our time in Jaipur started
off bad with cockroach infested rooms and a dodgy rickshaw driver,
which broke down and then made us get two rickshaws, we made the most
of an amazing experience and in the end changed hotels!. We saw Amber
fort, Hawa Mahal, Albert hall and many other awesome sights that
Jaipur had to offer, we ate good food and enjoyed each others company.
On Sunday we did shopping!! They don’t call Jaipur the hand craft
capital for nothing! So many beautiful hand made items everywhere! I
managed to buy some jewelry and hand made wall hangings and bags. we
even tried KFC in JAIPUR that was weird, everything was spicy!

This weekend we also welcomed even more volunteers to the house! So it
is a pretty full house now with 12 volunteers! We are like a mini army
now! We are all so excited to be going to Agra in a matter of days. We
are going to do a tiger safari and visit the taj Mahal! Which you will
have to wait to hear all about!!

Until the next time,
Bec and George!

Festival dancing with our Gappers in Peru!

Once upon a time there where was a Group of Antipodes that loved adventure. This is exactly what they sought out and what found them in the most unexpected of places.
It started out with 9 of them hiking up a mountain at midnight for 3 hours in the freezing cold and the pitch black, as our little trekkers in preparation of the cold weather had all completely forgotten torches. The festival they sought out was Qyoriti. However they pushed on with the locals up the steady hill guided by the moonlight, stars and locals candles that they held and lit in part of this religious Pilgrimage. Along they way one of our Antipodes instantly became richer by buying $30 000 US and since then Nick has been extremely generous and done lots of good deeds by tipping the locals very significantly. At the top it was surprising to see the multitude of tents and more astonishingly was the multitude of locals lying on the freezing cold, hard ground under a solo blanket trying to keep warm and sleep. There was also numerous stalls where locals and us Antipodes (being the only tourists) could buy our heart´s desires such as miniature cars and houses which they would then offer to the Gods at the Glacier. This being a sacred place and part of the religious festival for Peruvians alone. The effort put into the dancing and festivities was incredible. Many locals were dressed in traditional clothes (exposing too many bare legs for us rugged up Antipodes) and were wearing amazing masks. The energy levels were incredible and rubbed off on all of us. Whilst a few of our party tried to copy the locals and get some needed sleep Rupert, Harry, Charlie, Louisa and myself felt over taken by this dancing fever and joined in. We sang numerous songs ranging from the Beatles to the Spice Girls and danced every possible imaginable dance we could remember. Popular favourites at keeping us warm and ones our neighbour Peruvians enjoyed watching included the Nutbush and the Hokey Pokey. Finally after awaiting the sunrise for many hours we started our Pilgrimage back down the hill being mindful of the black, white and mushy ice along the way. However afew of us.. (Lousia!) still managed to fall once or twice.

The next day the group of Antipodes accompanied by their wonderful helper Arlich all turned into Little Red Riding Hood´s in their rented Peruvian outfits. Dancing with the teachers around the Plaza de Armas was a real honour for everyone and a good bonding session between us. Our appearance as the only Gringos in the festival (yet again.. we have a habit of doing this) was a small part of the festival that day and again an even smaller part in the whole week of festivals that there has been in Cusco. However no matter how small our part was it meant the world to us and the teachers from Ccorao. They also loved the boy`s lively nature and purchase of fireworks. At the end we were surrounded by photographers for the second time and this time Charlie, Harry, Rupert and then the whole group were invited to make a Peruvian tuna television ad. The question is whose expression is the most convincing of the three to become the face of Parawachi Tuna??!!? At school the next day the 10 little Antipodes worked hard on the green house and looked forward to the day when it can also be planted. This Riccardo assures us to be very soon.

However 2 days of no school due to the 2 largest festivals in Cusco signified more adventure for the group so it was decided that they would split. Bec, Carissa, Liv and Lou all stayed to experience the spectacular Inti Raymi which is said to be the most incredible festival yet while Rupert, Nick, Harry, Charlie, Sophie and I set out to try and make it to Bolivia for an extended weekend…. These little Antipodes didn´t know what they had got themselves into…

After days or hours of the border being ok between Peru and Bolivia the mining strikes about foreign ownership started up again and so did the road blocks. The 6 Bolivian Bandits trying desperately to cross the boarder were left stranded in Juliaca (One of Peru´s most un tourist friendly towns) only to be very kindly taken to Puno where we enjoyed the compforts of a home cooked meal and ice-cream only to find out that whilst we slept the town had experienced a few overnight problems. Happy to move on we were unexpectedly taken away from the town´s Port where we were looking forward to a 9hours boat ride and shoved into a combi. With this change came numerous road blocks where our highly determined drivers moved countless rocks, practically drove off the side of cliffs in the dark and at some points found themselves rather lost in the middle of the Peruvian countryside. After being harassed by menacing, local Grandmothers who kept blowing their whistles looking for more reinforcement we found ourselves walking in the country side as our combi tried to navigate another route. This then caused us to get bogged n several occasions and we all had to look for rocks and grass tuffs to make an easier path. However before our journey ended we were forced to stop somewhere in the ´Great Outdoors´ of Peru as a group of very angry locals held the combi up. We were told to close the curtains, not speak English and put our heads on the seat infront. Luckily we survived the adventure and after about 12hours of this endless journey with had such an uncertain end we arrived at a hostel close to the boarder.

Crossing the boarder elation was felt by all the Antipodes and by Jane as well who had been receiving regular updates. The relaxed atmosphere of Copacabana washed away the nerves as did the mind blowing view across the lake from the top of the nearby mountain/hill. Arriving at La Paz in our hostel the boiling showers signalled that it was all ok and we were happy to meet Liv, Lou and Bec who had caught up on a days travel and met us in LA Paz. Carissa was minding the fort back in Cusco! The adventure only continued in La Paz with us girls nearly getting arrested at San Pedro Prison by taking photos. We also bought some luck at the local witches markets as well as a dead llama. The next day the girls went off to survive Death Road and have a wonderful day riding downhill from the mountains and snow to the jungle and heat below. Rupert and Nick also took off to the unreal Salt Flats in the South of Bolivia leaving Harry and me to climb a 6088m mountain, Huyana Potosi. After battling the snow, ice, clouds, darkness, dodgy ice crampons and altitude we made it to the summit to have a few of solid whiteness. However this didn´t dampen the trip at all with all of our group summiting we were Happy.. and tired.. and cold but Happy none the less Little Vegemites!

Like all good fairy tales there is meant to be a Prince Charming however I think we all only fell in love with LA Paz, Bolivia and the adventure our placement is giving us here in Peru.

Here are a whole bunch of photos. I couldn't decide which ones not to send as I love them all and show the great time we have been having!!!

Watching the sun rise and swimming with turtles in the Maldives with our UniBreakers!

Above is a photograph of a few boys Tom, Cob, Maddie and I played soccer with. To start they were quite shy but once we got on the field and started playing stacks of other kids flocked to the field. We lasted under and hour cause it was so hot and enjoyed our cold showers (sulfur smell and all). Shortly after my shower I was sitting in the common room with the other volunteers when Lucy came in and asked if I had the key to our room. I replied that I'd left it in the usual spot. She then asked if I'd left the outside connecting door open to which I said no because I'd left the inside door open. "oh..well why is it locked then?". At this stage Mads admitted that she'd used our bathroom and closed the door which had locked automatically. We gave Asad a call who got Gardia (who busts the best moves on the island) to try every single key they had in both doors but none of them worked. At this stage Chappey was involved and assured Lucy and I that by the time we needed to go to bed the room would be open. A few minutes later Gardia walks in with a hammer and starts smashing the handle. Frustrated with Gardias poor attempts Chappey takes over and finally busts the door open. We're pretty happy we can get into our room and the small loss of privacy is not too high a price. I took a pretty funny video but it's too big to upload so a photo of where our door handle should be will have to suffice.

The same night at 9pm we met with Ahjib, the principle of the school we will be working at. He showed us around the school which is one of the nicest buildings on the island but terribly under resourced. It was set to open in 2014 but because of the demand for schooling they were forced to open it a few years early! We talked about what subjects and years we would prefer to teach and I've opted for any grade teaching either art, english or social sciences. School Starts on Sunday.

The last two days have been amazing.

We stayed the night at an (nearly: population 3) uninhabited island which is about a 30-40min boat trip from Thinadoo.

I can't remember the last time I've felt this carefree.

It had the best snorkeling I've seen yet with a sweet reef shelf. I spotted a few turtles and on the last morning I saw a shark.

Watching the sun set before eating dinner (freshly caught) was really nice.

But so was watching it rise the next morning.

At night the phosphorus (not sure how to spell that) would light up in flashes along the sand so it looked like hundreds of lights were burried beneath the sand. There were also thousands and thousands of medium sized crabs every where and the boys enjoyed throwing them at the feet of the girls to make them scream. Asad, Chappey, Ali & Co organised some games for us to play, including beach football, tubing, dancing and crab racing. They had also bought prizes for us and Lucy and I ended up with the same hat which has become a bit of a running joke between us.

I've finished my first book and now onto the next one. At this rate I might actually finish the small library I've taken with me. Thankfully tomorrow is another free day so we can all sleep in as most of us are sleep deprived and a little sun struck.

Cultural delights for the Gappers in France leading up to the final 4 weeks!

As I write now at the end of our eighth week in France, we are down to the proverbial business end of our placements in this country. With just four weeks left until our departure, we have been cramming as much as possible into each sunny day here.

As usual, much of our free time is spent rambling via bus, train or bicycle to distant and nearby villages so as to see as much as possible before our dreaded departure. The beautiful medieval city of Aigues-Mortes, which I had the chance to explore last week, is enclosed by an ancient stone rampart which rises dozens of metres in the air. Within the magnificent protective wall exists the paradoxically modern heart of the city, whose antiquated streets are lined with beautifully presented upmarket cafes, souvenir shops, art galleries and fountains, all of which are bustling with tourists. When one ascends the rampart and
its magnificent towers, the region known as the Camargue stretches for miles into the horizon. In the direction of the sea exist massive pillars of salt bound by flamingos, which are native to the region, grazing in the surrounding body of water.

Last Friday the group of us Australians rendezvoused in the nearby city of Avignon to celebrate my eighteenth birthday. We welcomed Sarah Smith, who had been living in the North of France since our arrival, to the beautiful South of France, before finding a promising street café, and enjoying the gastronomic offerings of the beautiful region. After lunch, during which we were all crammed close to each surrounding table in the spirit of true French café dining, we made our way to a local bar and spent the afternoon drinking and sharing our experiences with one another.

Four days later, the longest day of the year marked the European transition from spring into summer, and was celebrated nation-wide by the French Fête de la Musique. Even in my tiny village of but 3,500 inhabitants, locals filled the centre place of the commune, and celebrated the solstice with native music, food and alcohol. Red wines and pastis – an anise-based liquor which is both largely popular in and local to France - are never amiss at such events.

On another spare day I made the two-hour journey by train to the coastal city of Marseille, the third most populated city in France. After combating my way through a plethora of gypsies and the Marseillan metro system (the shock of the big city really hit hard here), I surfaced at the beautiful Vieux Port, a centre-point of commercial trading for more than twenty-six centuries, which is today filled with boats of all sizes and uses, and lined with modern shops and cafés. Armed with the knowledge of the all too common dangers and annoyances of the city, I wandered around the bustling Vieux Port a little before making the steep ascent up to the hilltop church of Le Notre Dame du Garde. From the lookout at the foot of this church, I could see the entire expanse of the city of Marseille, which, to my left, gave way to a beautiful sky-blue ocean.

I wrapped up this fortnight by enjoying some of the cultural festivities of the Gard department. The neighbouring village of Garons was celebrating its annual Fête Votive, five days in which inhabitants of the village celebrate their rich culture. In the arena of this village, my host family took me to watch as locals tempted their fates with a furious bull, which charged at those who entered the inner circle of the grandstand. Whilst more daring combatants tossed rings onto the horns of the furious bull, or even flipped over the beast as it charged at them, those less agile were left trampled and sore in the wake of the bull.
Every now and then the provoked animal would jump the rails of the arena and thereby enter an outer circle of spectators, which sent locals fleeing for the higher levels of the arena.

The evening was finished with a traditional bull catching along the main roads of the village, during which competing teams would attempt to catch and arrest a wayward bull. Unlike the activities of the arena, this one was dangerous for all those involved, and I found myself running to the cover of nearby bushes, cars, or anything else that would prevent my potentially imminent death by trampling.

I think all eight of us Australians will endeavour to do as much as possible in our final four weeks here. In two weeks is the Fête Votive of my own village, during which I will likely participate in my own bull catching, as well as soak up as much of the Southern French culture as possible.

Until next time, A la prochaine
Jesse.

Townsville Grammar says Ni-hao from China!

Hi everyone, Ni-hao from China!

We are continuing to have an amazing experience, we are currently sitting in a stinky little Internet room in the Fishpond village. We are at the third day of the project and haven't had any Internet up until now so we thought we had better give you an update on all our adventures!
When we last blogged we had just arrived in Beijing. We thoroughly enjoyed the remainder of our time sightseeing. We had an amazing time visiting the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, the Forbidden City, navigating our way through the subway (fighting all the locals for spots on the train) and watching the amazing acrobats. The Chinese people are very kind and friendly but have absolutely no sense of personal space, but I guess that comes with living with 18 million other people. They are also amazingly flexible and strong, with grandmas in the Temple of Heaven standing casually with one foot above their head. The temple of Heaven was a common highlight with its beautiful surrounding gardens, where the locals like to hang out and show off all their skills such as musical instruments, whip cracking, acrobatics and other tricks. Vanessa wowed the locals with her whip cracking abilities while the rest of us just looked stupid. Food in Beijing was interesting but yummy, the English translations for the titles of each dish thoroughly entertained the group with examples being "fry balls with no result", "dish of sesame oil connected through one's female relatives" and "fresh bacterial manure of incensed barrel intestines".

After sightseeing in Beijing we took the 3 hour bus trip to Fishpond village. Here we began our long and difficult trek on the great wall of China. We trekked a grand total of 30 kilometers over three days and even though some of us felt like curling up into a ball and dying, we all made it to the top safe and sound....just (Calum fell off the wall but luckily escaped with only a few scratches). We have had a few people sick but everyone is soldiering on with four of our six bookshelves nearly completed (hopefully they will be able to hold some books too). Even though the carpenters guiding us don't speak any English, it is very obvious what they are thinking when we finish a bookshelf (very proud of ourselves) and they just laugh and have to undo half of it and rebuild it themselves. Several of the group got to spend a morning teaching the local children English, somehow they all got conned into drawing pictures of koalas and kangaroos and signing their names on everyones books. The food here is wonderful, better then anywhere else we've eaten so far.

Yesterday we played some sport with the kids and they were all scared of Steve and have taken to calling him 'MONSTER!' We played badminton and basketball and a game we have named poitoi (similar to hackey sack but far more painful). We are on our final 2 days of project and have 2 days of trekking before catching the overnight train to Xian.

Zai Jian！