Sacré-Cœur, Paris – Alexander Arch, March 2015

We went to the  Sacré-Cœur which is my mum’s favourite monument in Paris.    We got there just before sunset so we have a great view of the city. The  Sacré-Cœur is amazing, the paintings on the walls and glass are really impressive.  I agree with my mum that it is the best monument in Paris…

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Samuel Franklin, March 2015

Tutoring Since last November, I have been tutoring a 13 year old boy English. We meet each time at a café just five minutes’ walk from my room, where we talk for two hours. At first, I wasn’t sure if this would be a good use of my time, but on reflection I am pleased…

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Samuel Franklin, March 2015

What’s in a name? I’m certainly no expert on the influence of names on one’s life, but I still maintain a genuine interest in unusual names. I can remember very clearly, in our second Chinese lesson at university, my class received our Chinese names. I was relatively content with ‘Fan Shanming. At a recent chess…

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Incredible architecture in Barcelona

Antoni Gaudí is quite possibly one of the most revolutionary modernist architects of his time. Throughout his long career, he designed and built some of the most striking and comfortable buildings to live in, using innovative solutions, always based on nature. Many of his works, which are more than buildings, you can find in Barcelona,…

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Yunnan, province in China – Nadia, February 2015

  Although I have not been to every province in China, I honestly think Yunnan is one of the best provinces to visit in China. I started my journeyby flying into Kunming from Xiamen and then took a 7 hour sleeper bus to Yuanyang to see sunrise over the rice terraces. The sunrise was very…

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Jinghong city in Xishuangbanna – Nadia

  My next destination was Jinghong city in Xishuangbanna region. This area borders Laos and Myanmar, and the cultural influence is obvious. In this region the main ethnic group are the Dai people. Their accents when speaking Mandarin were extremely difficult to understand! Jinghong had some strange huge elephant statues all over the city (rather…

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Little White by Imogen Page-Jarrett

There was a little girl in the Xiao family called “Little White” (the same nickname as me). The younger auntie told us her sad story. Her parents had left long ago, and now only her grandfather remained. She had been given to a nanny’s family to be looked after, but they had not looked after…

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Carnaval in Madrid!! Ashton Lily Woolley, February 2015

Celebrated annually in the week before Lent in the Spanish capital of Madrid, Carnaval brings the city to life with parades, processions and parties – all the things the Spanish do best. Centred around the Paseo de la Florida in the city centre, Carnaval is an explosion of colour and sound as Spanish citizens from…

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