Hello. 

See, I’m doing pretty well with the updating now!  Woohoo!

Sunday is the 1st of October which means that it is National Day.  National Day is marked by a week of holidays all across the country, meaning that I too have a week off.  People have been asking me what I intend to do for the week for some time now, and I hadn't made any plans.  I had considered going traveling for a week but decided that my lack of Chinese, combined with the whole country having their holidays at the same time, meant that maybe it was a better idea if I stayed in Ningbo.  I would instead do a bit of traveling around a more local area, and seeing some sights of the city rather than the further country.  I have a month off for February and I expect that I will do the bulk of my traveling then instead.  This was my intention until the end of school today.

I had gone to see Tracy to get my passport back from her (she needed it to change something with my residence permit, so I can now stay here till the end of August if I choose) and to ask for someone to come and mend my sink.  The sink in kitchen decided that it didn’t want to work anymore, and in protest started spitting water out over my floor.  Tracy arranged for someone to come to my kitchen, and gave me my passport back along with some vouchers for the cinema and for produce from local bakeries.  She also told me that Jane wanted to speak to me.  Jane was my supervisor when I first arrived here, and the person with whom I had arranged my appointment at the school.  I went to look for Jane and found her in her office, which handily enough is also my office.  She asked me if I would be interested in going away with herself, her daughter and her husband to visit her mother-in-law and her sister’s family in another city.  The trip would be leaving on Monday, and I would return to the school on Thursday.   I obviously accepted, and so we made arrangements for the logistical aspects of the trip.  I'm a little unclear of the itinerary of the entire expedition but I understand it will involve staying in a city for a few days, a day trip out to Jane's husband's home town (a village out in the countryside) and a trip to another city which is the capitol of this province (although a smaller city than Ningbo). 

All of it sounds very exciting and I’m very much looking forward to all of it, but most of all the chance to go to a more rural area of the city grabbed my attention.  Jane knew that I was interested in going to a more remote area of the country so that I could make my comparisons, and perhaps this is what has prompted her to make this invitation.  The villages around China are far poorer than the cities and I’m sure it will be fascinating to see how such a large proportion of the populace of China lives.  It will be a sight that I’m sure many visitors to China are unable, or unwilling, to observe too.  I think that I'm very lucky to be in a situation which allows offers like this to come my way.

So, while I have been wonderful with writing this post so soon to the last one, it may in fact be a little longer before my next.  I don't expect anything overly interesting to happen to me before Monday, and so I prop won’t have reason to write again before I go.  Rest-assured though, that when I do write next I will probably have not only stories to tell but endless photos for you too!  See, so it's also pretty exciting for you.  :)

Ok, well I think that will be about enough from me.  You are probably still recovering from the last entry anyway.

So, byebye for now.

Mat

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