Day 71

20.06.18

Had class first thing in the morning. My VIP student, who I went to watch the game with the other night, wanted a final lesson with me before he left to his hometown Shanghai. He wanted to know about the slang of Western culture, which I'm very well-versed in, so it was a productive lesson.

Then, I had lunch with Shirley, one of my first friends here who I haven't seen for a while. She has her graduation ceremony tomorrow for Nanjing University and has found work in Suzhou. Almost immediately after graduating, she will transition into full-time work. And to think that I took a gap year because I didn't feel 'ready' to work. Chinese people are just bred differently. She said she officially starts in August but her manager told her to come early to 'adjust' to the company - I suspect so that when she officially starts, she can add value. It took me almost 3 months to settle in to Telstra before adding any kind of 'value'. So she's telling me about her boyfriend who she just started dating and he's already talking about future plans and she's feeling a bit freaked out because their relationship is still quite raw and her life is undergoing some big changes. They're going to have to do long distance as well - after only dating for a month! It's crazy how this guy is already thinking quite ahead given the situation - and I think it's common in Chinese culture to do so.

After my class at Jiangning, one of my students was kind enough to send me closer to the city. During the car ride, I found out that her little sister is living in Melbourne and is a professor of actuarial studies at the Faculty of Business and Economics at Melbourne University. What a coincidence!

When I got to soccer training, I was glad to see my friend Andrew who I hadn't seen in a long time, rock up. The weather was perfect for football and I sweated a river running around, which was good since I've been a bit lazy the past two weeks during the time my brother came over.