Ok, so it's not a therapy session, but it certainly feels like one! Every week I travel to my hour-long Chinese lesson. I have one of three different tutors; two young female tutors, or one older male tutor. The last two weeks I have had Xin (pronounced "Shin"), the older male tutor.

Xin seems to really like me, and lavishes me in compliments and very big smiles every time we meet. Well, I guess all the tutors like me, but Xin is the one who ensures I walk out of my lesson feeling like the next world leader. Bob, who studies with me, has noticed the way all the tutors seem to like me and complains that they are constantly comparing him to me. "You can do no wrong in their eyes," he said to me.

The last two weeks I have been blessed with having my lessons with Xin. He has a very laid-back teaching approach, and explains everything so thoroughly; he always ensures a very productive lesson.

As many of you (those who follow my blog) know, I go through a broad spectrum of moods; usually right from one extreme to the other. Some things I write about, and some things I don't. One of my big issues is confidence. I know I am not a dumb person, and I believe I've got a pretty good head on my shoulders, but I have never been able to pull off that "big thing" I always wanted to do.

So anyway, I usually don't talk about my confidence issues very much, and definitely not with many people. And I have never talked about them with Xin. But somehow he manages to tap into that hidden darkness, seemingly without even realising it, and turn some sort of light on in me.

I usually arrive to my lessons feeling nervous, pathetic and unprepared. After my lesson with Xin I leave with a smile, a sense of satisfaction, and some really crazy-wild ambitious thoughts running through my head.

Some of the regular compliments he gives me are, "You are very smart", "You are very logical", "You have a really good memory".

Some of the bigger compliments I have received from him include last week's, "You could win the Nobel Peace Prize if you wanted to!" - Wow! What a compliment. I was in shock after that one! Then this week he tells me that I could get in some "really high, important position" because I am so logical in the way I learn. Then he said he could see me doing my PhD in Chinese, and enthusiastically exclaimed, "If you study Chinese at University, I want you to apply for scholarship! You are that good!" I didn't know what to say, so I just said, "I love your faith in me, I wish I had it!"

So, as well as having a very productive language lesson with Xin, I usually walk away feeling very good about myself, too, which is why I have likened the lessons to some form of therapy. The feeling doesn't usually last too long - maybe a couple of hours - but it is good while it lasts!