Finally, I am in the classroom. Released from being chained to my desk. Today I got to see the whites of their eyes. I met my 6th form class, which I share with two other teachers. We'll be broken up into smaller, more intensive groups. They are very shy about asking questions--I can only suppose it's for fear of making a mistake. They were very pleasant and polite (sounds like a my stock reporting comment--but it's true!). The 7th formers were very quiet as this is the year they have the BIG exam that allows them into university and ultimately decides their fate. It is very big deal here. Everything is about the exam. It's very much like me when we had the Bursary exam but I think it's much more important here.

The staff here have been very nice to me and my Cantonese has not improved at all. I can only say good morning in their language. I feel like such an idiot when these kids can speak English to me. They are very humble about their abilities, but they speak well. The exams are actually quite gruelling, much more difficult than the English exam in New Zealand. Their focus is much more on the language itself, not literature. They will do that in their Chinese class.

Tonight I have my first social outing with some of my brother-in-law's work mates from his international school. It's a curry and lager boys' night out in Tsim Sha Tsui. Should be fun, especially when I don't have to worry about driving home!