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Published: April 2nd 2009
I started my Chinese Mandarin class today. We start class at 8am every morning and the tutors start bang on time. The Chinese are very punctual and being late is thought to be extremely rude. It was really strange walking through campus because it is so different from home e.g. dodging bicycles and walking past banana carts! We walked past a grass area and there were lots of students standing on their own revising before class. They talk out aloud to themselves so I assume they are practicing for their English class. They looked like some sort of cult - it’s so strange.
There are 12 students in my Mandarin class and we are all at beginner’s level. We spent time getting to know each other before starting the lesson. The lessons are really active and quite intensive at times. I find the pronunciations quite difficult but it’s a really fun language to learn. Each word has three different meanings so you use different tones to separate them. We have two tutors; they take us for half a lesson each. One of the tutors is really hyper active and gives us sweets for getting answers correct. She shouts out “SUGAR”
and hands them out like medicine, it’s quite funny. I am getting quite used to my new Chinese name!
We had a lecture about Chinese society in the afternoon. We were taught about the history of Chinese language and how this relates to culture. It was really fascinating to place the language into context and understand how it has developed over the years. Each word has so much meaning and is such a creative means of communication. The lecture theatre looked more like a big classroom and was quite run down. Every where in Beijing smells of sewage and the city is in desperate need of some window cleaners! Apparently the pollution is so bad that a day in Beijing is the equivalent of smoking 75 cigarettes. I can’t think of a proper way to put this but toddlers walk about with these trouser things that are open at the back. They just squat down and do the toilet in the street. The Chinese also spit every where!
Every one from the Study China Programme went to the acrobatic show in the evening. I’ve never seen any thing like it in my life e.g. 13 people on a
bicycle! Each performance was symbolic of Chinese culture and modern day society e.g. the role of women, education, and economy. I’m not sure what the bicycle act was about ….. Chris Hoy? haha. It wasn’t until they switched the lights on at the end that we realised that all the performers were children. A student volunteer took came with us on the bus and made an announcement on the way back home. She apologised for not being able to give us our full attention during our stay in Beijing because she has to complete a dissertation. They really do take their education extremely seriously and I read an awful lot into that single comment.
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Alan M
non-member comment
wish I was there
Hi kay, those bugs on a stick look tasty, have you tried them yet, full of protein I'm told. We are all missing you, hope your not missing us to much. Take everything in and look forward to hearing all about the trip and seeing all the photo's. xxxx