In Class

---

I feel like I need to clarify what my classes are like. I always get the same questions. My classes were taught in Chinese. Most of my classmates and teachers can not speak English. The university has a Chinese program taught in English, I did not chose that program, I didn't go to China for that. I arrived in Xi'an without having taken any Chinese and in one year reached HSK level 3 (lower Intermediate) in Mandarin proficiency. My friends in America are amazed I can speak Chinese. They treat it like I have been through the NASA training program and just came back from space. Learning Chinese is just like any other language, it takes time. I took 20 hours/week at the university, 6 hours at another school and twice a week met with a private tutor for a year. Then you have to use it, I spent my weekends with my Chinese friends and I refused to speak English. The average Chinese person has an impressive English vocabulary, but they never use it. Their spoken English is usually limited to less than 100 words, and a few phrases. The same could be said of most people who study a language. I took French in high school, but I never used it.
In class we had to use Chinese. My classmates were from Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia or worse Liverpool. The week was divided into classes for reading, speaking, writing, and listening. Speaking was the most fun. We would cover the new words, and practice a dialogue. The next class we came in and gave a different dialogue we made with the new words. I think the teachers enjoyed it more than we did. I had a great time, hopefully I will see some of my classmates again.

---