今天我学习汉语七小时了。I don't even care if that's the right way to say "I studied Chinese for seven hours today." (The correct use of 了is apparently something which confounds learners for years!) But verily, on top of the three hours of the morning intensive class there were two hours of a (not so) advanced conversation class taught by the same teacher Thursday evenings which she's invited me to sit in on - our topic was the untranslatable Confucian virtue of 孝道. Add to that some prep time in a coffee shop learning assorted health-related vocabulary (感冒, 头疼, 流鼻涕, 发烧, 咳嗽, 嗓子, 量体温, 打针, 开药, 看病), and, as I was preparing a long-awaited dinner at end of day, lesson 10 from that excellent audio series. I can feel 中文 Chinese becoming my 全职工作 full-time occupation!
