302 dtg (sorry for the hiatus)

Not much blogging lately, emigrating can be such a tiring exercise. Things worth noting:

- Went house hunting. It's all sorts of fun trying to say "I need a house that comes complete with a television, bed, cupboard and washing machine" to a real estate agent in a language that you can't yet speak. Great for learning new words.

- Joined a class of people who have already been studying in China for six months. I don't understand much of what is going on, but it's pushing me to catch up faster and learn more.

- Made friends with non-English speakers. Hui-rong and Fu-xin are two Koreans in my class and we have a great time. I can't speak Korean so we have no choice but to work away in Mandarin until we manage to get the point across.

Daily routine pretty well fixed. Class from 8am to 12pm. Lunch with the Koreans. Work with a private tutor from 2pm to 6pm. Go jogging for an hour. Dinner. Homework until Midnight.

So as you can see, dinner is a problem. Not learning any new Chinese by eating instant noodles on my own at home, so I am thinking of placing the following ad in the personal section of a local newspaper (will get friends to help translate).

Dinner for Two

Newly arrived Australian seeks local friend for dinnertime company. Cooking skills essential, cleaning skills desirable. Venue, food, tools, kitchen etc provided. Let's exchange languages!

Do you think the wording is okay?

PS: Due to start writing letters and postcards next weekend. If you can read Chinese and would like to receive an occasional note from Qingdao, please email me your postal address.