Well, after an internet-free few days, I returneth!

Things are going okay at this end. I've not been in the net cafe for a few days, so that's my absence explained (it's SO smokey and loud in there, it's really quite unhealthy).

Okay then, school has been better. I've taken to planning each day's lessons the evening before (or when I get the chance, at school), which has given me every morning free and therefore helped me feel like I'm not just doing schoolwork ALL the time! Very good news that... my lesson planning is actually getting a little faster too (as I very slowly get to know and remember classes / pupils etc.). I've even taught the same lesson twice, which saves tons of planning time.

I have a couple of parent-demonstration-type-lessons soon though, so I'm sure they'll be pretty hairy (considering the kids I have to pretend to teach and junior psychos). Should get easier after the first couple I guess... (the second one of these is on Boxing Day... eugh... so think of me when you're stuffing Turkey and Spuds down yer necks!).

Outside of school, I've been to the rice fields by the river to practice music, played some tennis, done some swimming, eaten a lot of garbage, and just mooched about. I had a bike-related nightmare and lost my house/garage/apartment block keys this week, but a few dollars and days later and friend Todd found the keys at the pool and my bike is fixed, for now...

Let's see, what else. This morning I was woken up at 6.30am by the local temple banging all manner of tin-pot drummery which went on for a good (?) , complete with accompanying firecrackers. Still, at least there weren't jets accompanying the havoc today...

This really is the noisest place I've ever lived (and that includes a Birmingham house full of would-be Techno DJs with hearing problems). No time is too late or early for ear piercing din in Taiwan, unless it's coming from my instrument of course. They just have no appreciation of badly performed scales here!

*mind's gone blank, hang on...*

Oh, Lizanne, my S.African flatmate, moves out tomorrow and her replacement turned up yesterday. Also from S.Africa, his name's Phillip and he seems very chilled and a good lauch - about 29 I think, an ex-markere/banker, looking for a change in life etc. etc.

I've picked up my second private English student too. My first is a piano teacher called Cecilia by the way. She's great. She's 31-ish and she pays me to chinwag with her for an hour a week. Last week we watched a DVD called Swinging Bach and often-as-not she educates me, on Taiwanese life, customs, language and classical CDs I should record.

Anyway, the new guy is called Jung Eddie (that's my spelling). He's signed up for 3 one-hour lessons a week, so Clare and I are dividing those up. He's about 30, very camp and nervous but very enthusiastic (he's already brought me drinks and Chinese honey). All very bizarre. The money from these lessons will cover each week's food and stuff though, so it's good news on the repayment-of-debt front.

God, you must be bored of reading this tripe by now.

Thought of the week: I heard a story from Todd about a Yorkshireman who swore like a trooper when a digging machine he was using broke down.

Prepare to be offended but also impressed with his grammatical accuracy:

"The f***ing fu**er's f**king fu**ed!".

You can't fault his sentence construction can you? Suffice to say, I stole his phrase when my bike's chain snapped for the fourth time in one day earlier this week!

How for now,

Matt.