@Winter ~ Ahhh, so you’re a Yorkshire lass! Yeah, went to Knowsley Safari Park years ago. Tried to monkey-proof my car by taking the windscreen wipers and aerial off in advance and strapping on my number plate with extra cable ties. Thought I was being rather clever but came out with a broken side mirror. Doh! Didn’t go after that cos I had a nicer car!!!
How are your studies going? It’s so nice to be welcomed by such nice people, thank you for your hospitlaity ^-^

@Cassandra ~ I’ve lived/worked in a few places now… was a year on a little island called Koh Tao off Thailand. I work as a Scuba Instructor and the island’s a great place for backpackers to learn. Unfortunately, there was so many Europeans, Ozzies, Canadians, Americans, etc that the ‘default’ language was English so didn’t get to learn much Thai (and most of that I’ve forgotten now!)

Then went over to Central America 2009/10. Worked on Utila (off main land Honduras) and most people spoke a weird Caribbean English there. Place where I picked up the most of a language was working in Costa Rica, after that… locals are amazing friendly in the area I worked (Guanacaste) and although people would generally want to speak to me in English, to help improve their communication, once I made it clear that I wanted to speak Spanish they really helped me along (although were often a bit too polite to correct me when my grammar sucked)

Hey snap! My race is on the 12th June too. 5k is a nice distance. You’ll love the race atmosphere… the marshalls are great at encouraging runners and it’s a boost if your family are cheering you on too, such a buzz. Good luck with that. I’m hoping for a 52min 10k which will put me on track for the start of marathon training *gulp*

I agree, self-study is very hard. I’ve thought about starting structured private tuition, but wonder if it would be worth the extra money. Let’s see if I can get my act together this time! Shame your husband isn’t as good at studying as you… does he help you with your conversational skills? It would be awesome if you got the chance to work over in Japan for a while… you HAVE to get your passport sorted! :-D Travel is very addictive… and not a bad addiction at that!

Take care
Emma ^-^