Penny Farthings

Today has been another interesting day of settling in. We met with P, another of the relocation people assigned to help us. First stop was school, to get everyone kitted out in their uniforms. Very nice uniform, all navy and pale blue, very smart. D was not particularly impressed with the shorts he has to wear in summer, but he may change his mind when it gets to 37 degrees.

We went for lunch to a Chinese restaurant, this time there were no English translations on the menu, but P is Chinese and after some discussion about what we liked and didn't like, she ordered for us. We had crab omelette, prawns, potato salad in lemon mousse, spicy beef, and spring rolls. Watching D and J dive into this bizarre combination, using their chopsticks as if they'd been born to it (well, almost) - I couldn't have felt more proud.

Next stop was bikes - mine was 150 RMB (about 10 pounds), J's was 230 RMB (about 15 pounds), S's was 300 RMB and D chose a BMX at 800 RMB (51 pounds) - I thought this was extortionate but D assured me it would have been at least 150 pounds in England. Our final stop was the dentist and doctor for a tour of the facilities, then home. J spent the journey sitting with P, going through the Chinese phrasebook, learning the Chinese for I am 8 and I like Prawns.