 |
Year 3 students with Frances, Rocky
and Charlotte |
 |
Frances in the Confucius
(Kong Fuzi) Temple |
On Tuesday, Frances, Charlotte and "Rocky" (English name of our long-term Chinese homestay student) came to Quzhou for a visit – they had arrived in China on Monday and stayed with Rocky’s parents in Yongkang, about 150 kms east of here. To make the most of the visit I organised for them to meet some of my 3rd year students in the afternoon.
The meeting went well, and Rocky’s input after living and studying in Australia for nearly 3 years was great, especially because of her being a native of Zhejiang province . Rocky and Charlotte headed back to Yongkang that evening and Frances stayed until Friday, exploring a little of Quzhou, with some shopping squeezed in as well. It was fantastic having Frances here after 3 months of only communicating via emails and disjointed Skype conversations.
 |
View from the top of the pagoda in
Fushan park |
 |
Pagoda in Fushan park,
almost obscured by trees |
Even though I thought I knew Quzhou pretty well, we still found places I had not explored, including a high pagoda in Fushan Park that offered a panoramic view of the city - after we had climbed the over 100 stone steps up the 6 levels to the top.
The college also generously invited us to an excellent banquet dinner with the Chinese English teachers. The meal was in a function room of the canteen, and again the food was not only delicious, but beautifully presented, witth a range of meat and vegetable dishes. We also had a quite good Chinese red wine – the best I’ve tasted so far.
