Teaching in China - Don't Drink the Tap Water.

Excuse the inappropriateness of the following comment, but ...
Do you know what it's like to have diarrhoea almost every day of your life for three months, straight?

I do!  And all because of having lived in China.

In China, if you want to drink tap water you MUST boil it in a jug first (even if it's just for brushing your teeth), and I did, but believe me, going to the corner store and buying bottle water was by far the more sensible choice.

The particular area where I was sent in China is famous for its love of spicy foods - something that I personally hate (again, another reason to do your research and not put 'no preference' on your application form).

The school was ... school food, if you get my drift, and yes, it was provided for free, but ... ugh!  Chicken legs?  No thank you.  Spicy tofu and carrot shavings?  Well ... certainly not as bad as chicken legs, but still ~

So Daniel and I often frequented the nearby KFC, having little more than chips and a drink.

We did eventually find a family restaurant "BOB Bar and Restaurant" or something like that, which served small pizzas ... spicy pizzas. -.-;  Can you imagine a spicy Hawaiian Pizza?  Having experienced one first hand myself, I don't have to imagine it.  Although all in all, it was actually quite tasty.

On our last day there, the head English teacher shouted us to a goodbye lunch at the family restaurant, and I ordered a fruit pizza, thankfully not spicy - not that I remember, anyway - and I honestly couldn't believe how delicious it was.

Believe me, there are probably few who can appreciate just what it is to have a normal *ahem* movement ~

There was nothing better than coming home and having a locally made, juicy all-Australian hamburger, beetroot and all!

Whew.

- Ian.

P.S. Again, sorry about the inappropriateness of some of this post.