The End of an Era

As the clock reached twelve noon on the 7th June, my last under-graduate exam had ended, there was no longer anything more I could contribute to my grade; it was now in the laps of the gods (or markers) to decided what I would be coming out of University with.

I felt the last exam, which had been on Soviet and Russian history, had gone quite well, but then there was never anyway to be able to tell for sure; I would just have to wait until the 28th June to find out!

With no more exams to take, me and Clare set off for our summer holiday to Barbados. 

Even though the Hurricane Season had officially started (!) the weather was perfect. We were only there for a week but we packed a lot in in that time!! We stayed at the 5* Crane Resort which was an amazing hotel, right on the beach, and we had a seaview from our hotel room and balcony. 

We also went to the fishing town of Oistins and ate all sort of fish like Flying Fish, Tuna and Marlin... we even ate Dolphin :P

The capital, Bridgetown, is very small but is very nice, and it was from there we went to the Kensington Oval cricket ground and to the world famous Mount Gay rum factory, where there was lots of testing to be done!!

The swimming pools at the hotel were great for relaxing in (and also posing on)!! It was  sad to leave Barbados as the people were all so warm and friendly and the country was so hot! 

Having got back to the UK, I had another week to kill until my results came out. In the end they released them a day early on the 27th ! And to my huge relief after three years of studying, worrying, balancing of time, procrastinating etc. I am to graduate Essex University with a 2:1 in Modern History and Politics!!  

I was very happy and relieved to have got it, although as it turned out, I had already secured a 2:1 before my first exam started as my Dissertation had already been give a 65 (not that I'm moaning!). 

The next era of my life is now about to start, on the 12th August to be precise, when I fly off to the PRC and become a fully ordained laoshi :P ...just a lot of Rosetta Stone to do before hand!

thank you, good night, much love. 

Eastern Promise

With all the pressure and focus on finishing my degree, exams and local Council elections plus the excitement of my summer holiday to Barbados, it has only just dawned on me that within a matter of weeks I will be on the other side of the world teaching classes of fifty English!

A few months ago, I applied to teach English in China through the British Council's English Language Assistant Programme, and I was lucky enough to have passed the group assessment and interview stage and have been offered a place to teach in Wuxi, China.

I of course accepted straight away, the opportunity to be a teacher in a developing country, to experience another culture and to explore the People's Republic and other countries in Asia was too much to be able to pass up. However it is now starting to sink in what I am about to do.

In a few months I will leave Essex where I have lived most of my life and leave my friends and family behind to go to a country where I can't speak the language! However it is very exciting to now be reading the Lonely Planet China guide book and be planning what to do, as an imminent reality, rather than it being a long-off dream. I will soon be making a checklist of place and things I want to visit, so check back regularly to see my progress!

Furthermore, I will keep you all updated of my progress in China (and Asia) via this blog, so keep on followingmorris!

Thank you, goodnight, much love.