22nd MarchChecklist:Caught a coldYáng Xué - 杨雪 (pronouced 'young cher')My family name is now, Yáng. When introducing myself, my family name must always come first. I chose Yáng because it's easy to pronouce and is also my Chinese sign, Sheep. My tutor, Sunny, gave me my Chinese name, Xué. I quote "Snow is white, you're white. Snow is beautiful and you're beautiful" So my Chinese name is Snow. I like it!"Wo jiao Yáng Xué " - "My...

18th MarchChecklist:Hair cutI've been worried about using a Chinese hairdressers incase it goes wrong. With long hair you can atleast manage to hide the mistakes but with short, well you have to walk around with with what you got! But then I'd prefer to say my hair looked bad due to a hairdresser and not my own stupidity of using my first aid scissors!I placed my bag on the 'hairy' floor, took off my scarf and jacket, placing them on my lap and showed with many a...

16th March"Ni hao!" "Ni hao ma?" I speak a little more to my tutor, Sunny. She's impressed, as she thought she was starting from the beginning with me. "Where did you learn Chinese?" She asks. "Chinese For Beginners, on my i-pod!"I was nervous but excited about my first lesson, but all in all it went well. I went over the basics with Sunny and learnt new sentences, such as "This is my..." "What is your name?&...

Date: 13th MarchAlarm Time: 7amHours slept: 4 hoursWeather: 18 degrees celcius. Winter has finally handed over the baton to Spring :)Checklist: Found a Chinese tutor"Be nice to teacher today, teacher is very tired!" as children roll on the floor, kick balls across the classroom or pretend to be animals.I never go out at weekends, early mornings with 3 year olds, it doesn't work! A house party was taking place in Shanghai on Saturday night and with over ...

8th MarchI continually put my jacket on and take it back off, as the sun peers in and out of the clouds, as I sit out on the balcony. Construction work takes place in the apartment blocks next to us, drilling, banging but it feels like a distance sound. I've started reading 'Slumdog Millionaire' It's an accomplishment, as I have yet to find the zone for reading since coming to Songjiang. I need to able to read a book in peace, for the author to take me away on hi...