Doubt you'll find anywhere with no homework, as Chinese parents expect lots of it. BIBS teaches IB curriculum, and is a bit more focused on fostering rounded and independent learners than just getting high test marks. The students get homework, but not crazy amounts, certainly less than at a public school. It is open to students of all nationalities. www.gokunming.com/[...]
China is difficult enough for experienced childless travelers, let alone a single mother. Big respect for your guts to even consider this! ESL salaries have gone up recently but are still not high, probably 11-13k (about $1600-1850) a month for a full time job. You can expect to spend $1200-1400 a month on childcare, rent, food, and other bills. Yes you will probably have enough to survive but you are leaving a baby with someone you don't know very well (pretty scary in China if you know about the proclivity of people to take shortcuts). I think coming here would probably make a stressful situation more stressful. However, if you can get through the first couple of years and you always show up to work, you will get raises every year, and when your baby reaches or 3 (or close to 3) you can put him/her in kindergarten, which is only about 3000-5000 a month. By that time you should be earning 13-14k so you will be able to save a little money for the future. There are lots of knowledgeable people here who can help you.
A Table is good
all the other VPNs I try to download either don't appear in bing searches or are blocked when you click on the link, so still stuck with useless Nord
Nord HK146 connected earlier this evening but was too slow to load anything much.
Nord really has been useless the last couple of weeks. Pity, cos it worked quite well before that, at least on laptop.
No results found.
a very pleasant park with a tall pagoda you can climb and take photos of the city if you wish. Roses in summer, blossom in spring, nice lawn to sit on, bbq areas.
Recently the food seems to be better. Decent steak at a decent price, decent pizza, some decent wine, and the music is more suitable these days (Rammenstein wasn't the right mood music for Cantina)!
Had lunch - grilled chicken on top of mashed cuttlefish and a salad. The chicken was tasty and well cooked, and there was plenty of meat/fish to fill up even a hungry person. The salad was overdressed and nothing special - I won't order one next time. The service is a decent imitation of what you might find in the west. A large menu of food and drink. A nice civilised place to go for food or drink, but some of the dishes (i.e. the steaks) are very pricey. You could easily spend 300rmb+ per person here. Equally, it is possible to have lunch for under 60rmb per person (as we did). Warning - the bottle of water on each table costs an eye watering 48rmb! Don't be a sucker by opening it!
Went for a spot of lunch. Best pizza I've had in Kunming by some distance. In fact, one of the best pizzas I've ever had - quality ingredients, thin base, cooked to perfection. Sashimi salmon tasted very fresh and was well presented. The drinks are expensive, and one of the waiters was letting the side down by being a bit scruffy and impolite (hence not 5 stars), but definitely go and try the pizza.
Not bad. Pizza base was a little thick for my taste. Great selection of craft beers in the fridge, a few beers on tap, and well priced mixed drinks and cocktails. Staff were pleasant. A 14" pizza is the perfect size for two people, and very reasonably priced at 45-70RMB. Beware that the English menu, whilst written in perfect English, is not necessarily accurate. I ordered the 'local one' pizza expecting pepperoni and mango but got neither. The waitress explained that was a mistake on the menu. Would be nice if the menu corresponded with what you get on the plate! Hopefully this will get sorted.
China's national football team training in Kunming
Posted by@Ocean, I really hope those 3 wishes can come true. Qualifying is plausible. FIFA are talking about expanding future finals to 40 teams, which would give China a better chance. I'd love it if China hosted the World Cup, the sooner the better! Winning it wont be realistic for another 15 years or so (for the men at least - the women are excellent).
Lijiang vendors strike, protesting old town entry fee
Posted byit used to be that you were exempt from the entrance fee if you had a hotel/hostel booking within the 'old' town. Is that no longer the case?
Whilst I agree with lowering the entrance fee to something like 30-50rmb, I don't have much sympathy with the retailers/hostels/bars inside Lijiang, who have basically ruined a beautiful town with their blaring music, crap hand drumming, and IDENTICAL products for sale everywhere. Have some originality!
Chinese Dragon Boat Festival
Posted byprobably bad form for foreigners to win Janjal
Chinese village turns to mass divorce in face of impending demolition
Posted byhahah, greedy buggers. Still, as Dudeson says, fight fire with fire
A conversation with brewer and pub owner 'Uncle John'
Posted bylook at the chalkboard pic tiger