Math exam every wednesday

There is a weekly math exam on Wednesdays. The teacher some time allows me to leave school or change room, (from 3:20pm to 5:20pm)
The exam takes place is the classroom, students remain seated in the usual way, and the "monitor" (equivalent of head boy, "délégué") takes the teachers table on the stage. The teacher can leave the classroom without a shadow of a doubt any student would dear to cheat!!!
It is considered a shame to cheat here. I am sitting a the back of the classroom; smiling; just picturing what French student would make of this juicy opportunity... !

J+35 Cosplay!

Yesterday, my father proudly showed me the wine he had made himself! As you can see on one of the pictures, which corresponds to the restaurant kitchen. Of course the "degustation" was an event!

There is a very very big trend amongst Chinese teenagers at the moment: it is called cosplay.
Never heard of it?? Yep... Pretty much like me before I settled down here!
Girls in school talk about it ALL the time!
Two days ago, a classmate described her outfit to me, I answered "it sounds beautiful, I really ought to try one"
The next day, I had a packet waiting for me on my desk in class "this is my cosplay outfit! Try it on and take some pictures!"
I must warn you, I am totally aware of how wrong it looks on me, but please believe me, it REALLY looks cool on Asian girls!!! However I haven't got any
pictures of them, so you will have to content yourself of my own photo...

This morning, I didn't go to school, because my parents were informed that I had to join a "foreign volunteer team to go and clean the mountain"
You are probably wondering what on earth this means!!!
In fact, we had to clime up the mountain, with plastic gloves and spades and pick up the litter.
This was organized by a local newspaper, a lot of photographers kept taking shots of us bending down, and "improving the environment"

Portrait of my dear Chinese sister...

I have now a pretty clear idea of who Tang Runhan really is, since I have shared her life for more than a month now.
I don't even know how to start. She is one very special girl.
There is a childish and naive side to her (she is 16years old, so one year younger than me but Chinese teenagers tend to be a little more infantile), yet, she is one of the most mature girls I have ever met.
She comes up with very profound and philosophical thoughts, her point of view on daily topics is always fascinating.
She is totally open minded, very honest, outgoing and very very patient with me (she makes huge efforts to speak as slowly and clearly as possible). She has a strong character, and stands firmly by her opinions however she always pays a lot of attention and listens carefully to what others think and have to say.
She is willing to learn from everyone, is very curious about everything that surrounds her, she's a smart cookie and likes understanding the reasons and explanations behind everything.
I would give her my bare heart, she has my absolute confidence.
My dear sister also happens to be a bit of a dreamer... This can be amusing to witness, but, occasionally, it gets slightly scary; let me explain.
When we ride our bicycles to school, it is not uncommon for me to remark she is staring at the clouds...while cycling !!! Now, for those who don't know, driving in china is WILD.

"In China, drivers drive on the right side of the road as in America. They also drive on the left side of the road as in England
Sidewalks are for motorcycles and small cars. Roads are for ...pedestrians!
Look both ways before crossing a one-way street. (friendly advice)
Most people that give directions haven't a clue where the place is but will happily direct you to it"

Most of the time, (being 100% focused), I am terrified, but here she goes, smiling, innocently gazing at the sky.
Ohhhh if only you knew how frightening that can be!
She misses narrowly to get knocked down maybe 20times/day, every single time, I practically have a heart attack!
I truly admire her. She's a very hardworking student, and humble.
Extremely generous, altruist, she's always very concerned about other peoples comfort more than her own.
She makes me laugh, we have established a very intimate relation, we have our own way of communicating, some codes that no one else can understand, our private jokes, and already some wonderful common memories to relate to !
Her laugh and her smile is one of the most heart-warming thing I have here.
Above all, she is, (seriously) the MOST graceful, elegant Chinese person I have seen eating. You probably don't know much about the Chinese way of eating. I will describe it in a few words: very noisy, there is no shame here to raise your bowl/plate and stick your face into it, in order to gobble up more food; no one cares if you have sauce all over your face, of if you spit out a bone while chatting with someone.
My sister, eats like a queen, a real princess. To tell the truth, I thought I ate in a rather elegant way, but my standards are quite low compared with hers!

We understand each other.
I realize how very lucky I am to have found such a good friend, a sister, family, I will doubtlessly stay close with for the rest of my life.

J+33 photos

I haven't got enough time to write a lot today, but I promise to post a long text next time!
One of the pictures is an article about an ideal way to educate children in china, and family rules. My Chinese father gave it to my sister and wants her to hang it up above her desk.
The other pictures are some views of nanjing.