Troubles in Paradise and Rising Above it

Another amazing day today! Some of the group are still a bit frustrated as we are still being chaperoned everywhere we go, this was made worse by them telling us that they weren't picking us up until 2pm and then turning up at 11am... It's not a very positive atmosphere here at the moment, some people are deeply unhappy at how we are being treated but having talked to other interns around the country, I think we could be a lot worse off. Will have to see how it plays out.

Anyway we headed into town and out to lunch at a noodle house! It was gorgeous! The good thing about having Chinese escorts is that they know the best places to eat and can speak Mandarin! Cecilia and I got some strawberries (about 1kg for £1.70) which were lovely and juicy!

Next we headed to the West Mountain and the highest point in Xining. After a bit of a climb we got to the top and the view was worth it. The mountains surrounding the city were amazing and the city itself stretched a lot further than we thought it did. The number of tower blocks was really striking.

Fishy Ice- it stunk!

Mike, Matthew, Will, Michael and I

Will looking less than pleased

Matthew, Michael and Mike

Dinner time, we were treated to PIZZA! CHEESE! REAL CHEESE! Very exciting and a nice change to the normal noodles and rice!

Hoping the moral gets better here because its making me stressed (I am group leader). I am very happy here, sure there are things that would make me happier (such as a washing machine, some answers to our questions, more freedom, etc.) but I think we have a pretty good thing going on here and we mustn't forget that we have only been here a week. We are still getting used to the school and its staff, and they are still getting used to us.