There is nothing to do on your days off except stay in your depressing flat and drink with the other teachers.

Hang on a second- you are in China- you are fortunate to find yourself in a quiet area without distraction- so what about your Mandarin studies? Mandarin fluent posters on this site will tell you that your situation was about as ideal as it gets for learning the language. We shouldn't waste our time grumbling but should embrace the advantages which most situations offer us-albeit in different ways. Now, am I right or am I right? Nothing to do can become time allowed to achieve constructive goals. Bloody Hell, right again!

Since this thread has just been re-continued with a vengeance I decided to read all the contributing posts to bring myself up to speed. WOW Beelzebub mate, your post above is like a breath of fresh air! And you were and are totally totally right. Bloody grumblers!!