This week has been insane. It's another moving week. Did I mention I hate moving? Really, I know HOW to do it, I know what I can buy elsewhere, I know what needs to get done, I know (sort of) how to minimize and trash ETC. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to be writing QE statements for my PhD exams in early September. It's really difficult to concentrate when you have a million other things happening all at once. And I only finished my last seminar and its accompanying, mediocre, 30 page paper, about a week and a half ago.
In other news, I have decided that my Chinese is currently below sub-par. Pourquoi, oh pourquoi! I knew I should have chosen something more reasonable in the history field. Part of the last week I have spent contacting people in Beijing over the phone and through e-mail, and the last week I have started my self-taught Chinese lessons again. Currently: Reading/Writing: OK to good, thank god; Listening: OK; Speaking: very poor. My tones have gone downhill and I have lost a lot of vocabulary. I catch myself talking around the word until someone gives it to me. Example: today I couldn't remember something fairly obvious -- "you know in the 1930s when the Japanese went into China... uh, entered China because of the war... uh the Chinese didn't like that when they came in or entered China... uh..." my new (Skype!) Chinese teacher "you mean invaded?" me: "yes... when Japan INVADED China... thank you" [mental me: FML]. (The new Skype thing is pretty cool though. Yay for Skype video!)
The question is, will I be able to make my research happen? I am seriously worried.
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