Tara Burke (27), of Overton, reports from China, where she is working in her first teaching job through VSO, with some surprising impressions of Hampshire held by Chinese students

When VSO offered me a two-year teaching placement in Xianning, people kept asking me where it was.

"Here," I'd say, pointing at a dot in the middle of China that meant no more to me than it did to them.

One thing I hadn't expected was to hear Chinese students giving me surprising descriptions of Overton, the nearest town to my childhood home, within days of my arrival.

I'd brought a few brochures with me from a tourist information office. I'll give a lesson on describing places, I thought to myself.

I asked each group to imagine that their job was to encourage people to visit the town described on the slip of paper I gave them.

Partly for my own entertainment, I thought I'd see what they made of Overton, near Basingstoke. It has a park, a church, many pubs and a good bakery.

Geographically, Overton is not so different from Xianning, where I live now.

Xianning is a sleepy, rural town about an hour south of Wuhan, a huge city with a population of 12 million and a thriving business and shopping centre.

There is a lovely bakery here but it couldn't be said to rival the one in Overton!

However, I was startled by the imaginative leap that the students made: "Every evening, if weather permits, many people go for a walk. The old and the young all have a chat with each other and the small town is filled with laughter.

"People pass time in the pubs and the bakery. There is picturesque scenery, charming views and friendly people. You will feel as comfortable here as if you were in heaven. Welcome to Overton, friends!

"Overton is an exquisite town in the south of England, there are many elated people in the smart pubs.

"You can often hear sweet-sounding music. Passing the foot of the hill you will hear the ancient bell ringing.

"Raising your head, you can see an historic church standing on top of the hill. When you walk along the road, the charming smell of fresh bread flows to your nose. Oh! A bakery is standing in front of you. What about going in to buy something delicious? Maybe you might like to go to the park, where the stunning sunset will accompany you on your twilight walk. How wonderful life is in Overton!"

I wondered how 18- year-olds in Overton would imagine life in Xianning. When asked, many of the students and teachers here tell me that that they don't like the dust, the shabby streets and the lack of things to do here.

When they ask me what I think, I tell them that, for me, everything here is new and interesting. The streets lined with stalls selling delicious, freshly-cooked steamed buns or amazingly cheap fresh fruit bring a bustling and lively atmosphere to the town.

There is always something going on, be it people bargaining in loud voices over a kilo of potatoes, kids playing among the tables and chairs, or old men playing mahjong to a small but rapt audience.

There is a true atmosphere of community and of people existing interdependently. It is also rare to hear people moaning.

I was shocked when I visited a teaching colleague's dormitory with its bare concrete floors and bed made from a board balanced on four wooden chairs.

I live in a two bedroomed flat with wooden floors and a balcony--far larger than anything I could have afforded in my previous life in London--and yet I am a new teacher to the college this year, just the same as her.

But I have never heard her moan about her relative discomfort. These things make me love and admire this place.

A few people have said--and one of the other foreign teachers has heard the same thing --that if "we foreigners" think that Xianning is a good place, then they have decided to try to think so too.

I remember being a teenager in Steventon and spending quite a lot of time skulking around, kicking my heels and moaning that there was nothing to do.

I suppose I didn't realise my luck in having simple things like a TV to watch, a heated house and a bed with a mattress to sleep on every night.

VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. More are needed now. To find out more contact the VSO on 020-87807500 or visit the VSO website, www.vso. org.uk