Day 1
Well, the first day has been good, though nothing Olympian just yet. I'd first like to thank everyone for their comments, and of course I will be trying to make some serious reports, whilst avoiding the eyes of the Communist government. I haven't actually been outside of the university yet so haven't seen the country in action. Nevertheless, I've indulged in a few Chinese activities.
First up was kung fu - lots of squatting, stretching and hi-yahing. It is not exactly like the movies, and it is most definitely more tiring! You have to master bent knees, with outstretched arms and a straight back (more difficult than it sounds) before you can even think of starting to learn positions and routines. But, we managed it, and the teacher taught us the routine of some monks. It's very slow and skilled and it really works your muscles - it certainly worked the boys who had never come anything near to the splits in their life! They were about as flexible as a broom handle, but they will be joining the class with some others and myself later on in the week.
The interview with Matthew Pinsent wasn't quite what I expected - as in I expected him to be there and he was not. But we enjoyed a performance of music and dance by some Chinese students, which was both beautiful and inspirational. There were traditional Chinese instruments as well as nunchucks, singing and dancing in traditional dress. The performances were filmed by the BBC and will be shown on the programme, 'Olympic Breakfast', which begins at 6.30 am on Sunday morning on BBC2. Watch out for The Homewood School crowd, who proved to be the best at cheering.
Lastly, we played some sport in the blazing afternoon heat, to bond with our new Chinese friends. We did many things, including skipping and a game of touch rugby. The rules were slightly difficult to explain (especially the offside rule) as the language barrier has proved to be quite tough to break down, but the game was good fun and certainly set us up for a good dinner and a good sleep. Preferring the policy of 'play now - sleep later', at least we got one of the two.
Happy blogging.
Well, the first day has been good, though nothing Olympian just yet. I'd first like to thank everyone for their comments, and of course I will be trying to make some serious reports, whilst avoiding the eyes of the Communist government. I haven't actually been outside of the university yet so haven't seen the country in action. Nevertheless, I've indulged in a few Chinese activities.
First up was kung fu - lots of squatting, stretching and hi-yahing. It is not exactly like the movies, and it is most definitely more tiring! You have to master bent knees, with outstretched arms and a straight back (more difficult than it sounds) before you can even think of starting to learn positions and routines. But, we managed it, and the teacher taught us the routine of some monks. It's very slow and skilled and it really works your muscles - it certainly worked the boys who had never come anything near to the splits in their life! They were about as flexible as a broom handle, but they will be joining the class with some others and myself later on in the week.
The interview with Matthew Pinsent wasn't quite what I expected - as in I expected him to be there and he was not. But we enjoyed a performance of music and dance by some Chinese students, which was both beautiful and inspirational. There were traditional Chinese instruments as well as nunchucks, singing and dancing in traditional dress. The performances were filmed by the BBC and will be shown on the programme, 'Olympic Breakfast', which begins at 6.30 am on Sunday morning on BBC2. Watch out for The Homewood School crowd, who proved to be the best at cheering.
Lastly, we played some sport in the blazing afternoon heat, to bond with our new Chinese friends. We did many things, including skipping and a game of touch rugby. The rules were slightly difficult to explain (especially the offside rule) as the language barrier has proved to be quite tough to break down, but the game was good fun and certainly set us up for a good dinner and a good sleep. Preferring the policy of 'play now - sleep later', at least we got one of the two.
Happy blogging.
2 comments:
Whats a Nun chuck?
I've now attached a picture of some nunchucks, so there is no confusion on Ron Hill's part.
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