It's December? What?!

OK, so it's been a while since I posted anything. Not just because it takes some mad skillz to maintain 2 blogs on 2 completely different topics (as well as maintain a job, apply for other jobs, keep up with the world and just generally be amazing), but because time has really been flying here. I intended to write this post on Monday. It's Thursday. See what I mean.

Of course, time flying is a good thing. No one wants their weeks to drag, and by the time I'm complaining about Monday, it's already Wednesday. Also, teaching the same lesson 16 times a week really starts to take its toll by Thursday morning. Friday's classes are also not my favourite bunch, and poor class 11 has had to deal with more than one seething burst of impatience. The weekends make a nice escape - I usually go into Chengdu city (or 'town' as I like to call it, cos I is from London) for my business Chinese lesson and to attend some sort of social event with the help of my life-line, Charlie. We do have some fun. I also get to eat Western food on these occasions, something that my Xindu counterparts don't seem to appreciate/ relish the opportunity to do as much as I do.

One such event was a Christmas party held by the European, American and British Chambers of Commerce. That was great - there was Turkey, imported wine, a cake in the shape of a train and (wait for it) a Dessert Buffet. Yes, buffet. There were also musical performances, dancing performances, an auction for a very tacky pair of earrings, and an absolutely sickening amount of networking going on. I stuck to the wine. *As I type this, I was going to add some very charming photos of myself and said train-cake, only to accidentally delete them in the process. I apologise for my stupidity, and I will try and find a suitably funny gif to makeup for this lack of photos* 

Other updates....I'd like to say I'm progressing with my Sichuanese, but that would be a lie. Oh! The oral exams are coming up, yes that's right. It's going to be....hard. For me, I mean. The students only have to give a very basic speech of about 20 seconds and then answer a couple of questions. "So easy!" they exclaim. I have to sit through 900 such presentations. Joy. Of. Joys. Everyday I understand better and better how my teachers felt.

I've made my first law training contract application, and now have to prepare to take an unnecessarily challenging and pointless verbal reasoning exam, for which I actually have to study. Because if you don't study, you won't pass. Because the exam doesn't make sense. So in order to wade through the nonsense, you have to study. You see? No? Neither do I. Needless to say, it won't be my excellent essay question that lets my application down.  That's it really, sorry for making you wait so long for pretty much nothing. Nothing really changes in the village, though maybe that's a good thing...

And finally, that funny gif as promised:

WHEN I ANNOUNCE THAT WE'RE GOING TO PLAY HANGMAN

WHEN I ASK 'WHO WANTS TO COME UP AND WRITE ON THE BOARD?'