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Published: September 20th 2009
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So, I’m here to study Chinese, right? Or as the title says "Wo xuexi Hanyu" (I study Chinese). Well, you may be wondering how my classes are going. Classes began on September 1. We were given a list of the different classes available, entirely in Chinese. The gossipy teachers who were registering us directed me toward the Beginner class, even though I was insisting that I was at a higher level than that. But they said that for the first week or so that we could switch between classes to find the one that fit better. So, I went to the beginner class. The teacher, who was speaking half in English and half in Chinese, went around the room so we could all introduce ourselves and say how long we have studied Chinese. The resounding answer was zero to 3 months. When she got to me, in Chinese, I said I’d studied about a year (it is hard to add up because my studies have been so random). At this response she says “oooohhh…why are you in this class?!” I just laughed and said, “I don’t know-this is where they told me to go.” So, at the break, I scooted over
Studying
It is very nice to study in my new apartment. Sunlight, beer and Mandarin. to the next level class.
Well, in the next level class I introduced myself and there was no surprise at my level and the teacher spoke only in Chinese. Additionally, they had all ready started into the first lesson, which I though was odd, since we were supposed to be figuring out which class was best for the first week. I think coming in a week later after trying other classes would be difficult! So, while I could only understand about 30% of what the teacher was saying in this level class, I knew I could not sit in the very beginner level class for a year, and since there was not an in between class, which would have been best for me, I decided to stick with the higher-level-always-confusing-totally-in-Chinese class.
So, here I am. Beginners B…or something like that. I have two different teachers. I have class from 8:30-Noon Monday-Friday (except Wednesday when I finish at 10:10). We have a 10-minute break every 45-minutes. I take zhonghe ke (comprehensive class), tingli ke (listening class) and kouyu ke (speaking class). The zhonghe ke is everyday for the first two 45-minute sessions with one teacher, then the other two
types alternate every other day for the second two sessions with the other teacher.
Then we usually have 3-4 hours of busywork type homework each day from the zhonghe ke to do outside of class, in addition to just studying to keep up and memorize characters, etc.
So far, despite begin mostly lost throughout class, I like my classmates and my teachers are kind. When I don’t understand they always say, “Mei guanxi!” (“It doesn’t matter!”). So…I guess it doesn’t matter. At least I’m hearing Chinese for about four hours a day and picking up some of it…sometimes. If I ask a question in English, they answer it in Chinese (very helpful, eh?!)… if they understand the question. I’m trying my best to ask the questions in Chinese, but I think they understand that even less than when I ask in English.
Our classroom is tiny for the 20-ish students in the class, but luckily in a couple weeks our classes will be moved to a new building where our classrooms will be bigger. Currently though we typically have 3 adults squished into each bench, meant for 2 people, and if you get there last you have
Classroom
My classmates and friends, Paula and Meili, in our tiny classroom during xiuxi (rest). to sit on the bench that doesn’t have a desk in front of it. I feel bad for the people who are paying out of pocket to take classes and have to sit like this. I get annoyed too, but at least I’m on scholarship.
My classmates come from several places: America (five of us), Korea, Japan, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Europe (ish? I can’t remember the country, but not one I’m very familiar with obviously). We range in age from about 23 to 65, with the majority being in their early 20s and a handful in their 40s, 50s and 60s. I am at the lower end of the knowledge level, mostly because my vocabulary is so small, but again, I can’t handle the lower level, so I’m sticking with this level.
We also have to balance studying for our classes and actually going out and using our Chinese to speak with native people. Kunming can be challenging for that due to the variety of dialects spoken here, such as Kunminghua which is Kunming’s own dialect. But I do think that I am already picking up a lot and for every three or so times that I don’t
understand, there is one time when I hear a word I just learned and the interaction makes sooo much more sense than the many times I’ve had the same interaction not having a clue what they were saying.
An additional, but interesting, challenge is not only am I hearing Mandarin, Kunminghua, and English, but my new friends, outside of my classmates, are from Italy (which is spoken at home since I’m living with a couple from Italy), Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Spain, Finland, Belgium, Poland, etc. So, all kinds of languages are flying around. It leaves us all speaking in random broken words with pieces of multiple languages cobbling together a conversation. It is funny when we are speaking in English, but something isn’t clear, so we clarify what we are saying in Chinese! But one thing is certain; my English is returning to China levels…it is some kind of weird elementary speech that inadvertently comes out of my mouth to the point where it happens even when I’m talking with other Americans or perfect English speakers. I can feel it when I am trying to write this blog too. It doesn’t seem to flow the same, but lets call that a good thing since I’m trying to move into thinking in Chinese.
Occasionally I wake up with sentences from my textbook lingering in my mind, but I’m not quite dreaming in Chinese yet. Mostly because I think I not remembering my dreams at all right now.
Oh, and I also started taking an option class on Chinese Painting. It is provided by the school on Tuesday afternoons. I’m pretty excited about that because I love to paint and draw, but for so long I put it aside and have not made time for that in my life. So, for at least a couple hours a week, I can relax and play with paint. Yay!
Well, I’m off to sleep and I’ll wake up before I want to in order to start another week of confusion…I mean classes.
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