Every cloud...

Sometimes you need a bit of shock treatment (no pun intended) to push you in the right direction. My last post may have sounded a little negative and, perhaps, defeatist but writing my thoughts down and considering it more has motivated me to start talking with the professors in Chinese. Since Thursday I've been attempting as much as possible to speak Mandarin with them and although it's messy and there's a lot of English in there when I don't know the Chinese, it's a big step and after a year and a bit here, it's about time.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up over the final months of my stay in Beijing and look forward to seeing what possible opportunities this presents. The main moment of enlightenment was seeing just what doors can be opened by showing willing and an interest in the culture and language (witnessing the melee around my German friend). This may seem obvious from the outside but when you're sitting in the midst of the system, struggling with the confusion around you it's easy to give in and withdraw to your own isolated world.

OK, here goes!