Tai nan le!

Asia » China » Shanghai
July 25th 2007

Published: August 5th 2007

More on Beijing and MMM's visit in Shanghai later! I am taking an intensive summer class at Jiao Tong University. My class started this week!

I just spend an hour writing this blog about my Mandarin class... and then my Internet Explorer crashed and it disappeared. ARGHH! Here's a weak rewrite:

Registration: I showed up for registration for my Mandarin class on Sunday morning. I expected to take a short placement test and pay my tuition fee. I didn't expect the crowds! I went fairly early (9:30 am) and there were already 140 people there! I waited to get my registration packet, and then waited in line for someone to check my passport/visa, then I waited in line to pay my tuition. Most people use cash, luckily they accept credit card. After that, I waited in line to sign up for a culture class (Chinese calligraphy), and then waited in line to pay for it ($30 usd) and then waited in line to take the placement assessment. The assessment was really simple, just a lady who asked me some questions in Chinese and then asked me to read from a textbook. She decided that I should be placed in the pre-intermediate spoken Mandarin class. I am taking class "D" (the levels are from A-G). Then I waited in line for someone to enroll me in the D class. Then I waited in line to get my textbook, then waited in line to take my photo for the student ID! I got to talk to all kinds of people in line, but I should have known better - waiting in line is a way of life here! Two girls asked me, "Which college do you go to!?" I secretly cringed and hoped that I wouldn't be the elderliest person in my class!!!!! Registration was fairly efficent - it only took me about two and a half hours.

Class: My first day of class - I was tardy!!! Class starts at 8:30 and I gave myself half an hour to get to class. A taxi to school typically takes 5 minutes. However, I couldn't hail a cab. I didn't know all the cabs get filled before 8:00 am. Oops. I got to the classroom at 8:40ish, and the teacher said, "You're more than 10 minutes late!" She was half joking, but I had to apologize. And, once I got into the classroom I start sweating even more. I was already sweating from walking, but once my body stopped moving, sweat just started to roll down my face! TMI (too much information), I know....

The teacher is high-energy and in her late 30s. She is blunt, nosy and laughs at her own jokes. I think I like her, although she constantly calls on people. There are two teachers for the class (they alternate). Teacher #2 is also nice, young, and gives us essay writing homework assignments. I think they are both good teachers.

Students: Nosy teacher #1 asks all kinds of questions to the students so we get to learn a lot about each other. The oldest classmate (it's not me!) is 33 years old; the youngest is 17 years old! There are only TWO Chinese Americans in the class. The rest of the students are from Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Thailand, and France. Crazy, huh? A lot of my classmates don't really speak English.... there's a Chinese girl from Italy who only knows Italian, a Korean girl who only speaks Spanish and Korean, etc. So... we all speak to each other in Chinese! It is fascinating to me that my classmates are so motivated to learn Mandarin. Most of them speak and read really well. I'm really impressed by the students that don't have a Chinese background. The Korean and Japanese students have a slight edge because they recognize the characters from their native language. I've been exposed to Chinese my entire life... and know more than me!

Level: Tai nan le! means "It's too hard!" I was a little worried when I got my textbook because there were paragraphs of characters. Everything is in characters - paragraphs, directions, dialogues, etc. No pinyin/romanizations anywhere. I can read about 15%!o(MISSING)f the words. So I was a bit embarassed when I got called on to read, but the teacher had mercy and just let me read a few sentences aloud rather than the entire paragraph. My speaking ability and listening comprehension is probably better than most of my classmates, but I am literally the dumbest when it comes to reading/writing. Some of the easiest words, like "the" "here" "book" are words I know in traditional characters, but the words have been simplied so much, I can't even recognize them. I was a bit worried/discouraged/embarassed about this, so then I asked to go to the easier "C" class the next day. I sat in on the class and I could understand 100%!o(MISSING)f what the teacher said and I knew most of the vocabulary words (not how to read/write them though). So speaking and listening-wise, the C class was "too easy". Goldilocks needs a class just right; one in between C and D!! So I went back to D, and for homework I had to write an essay on "How to keep healthy." I had to look up almost every word in the dictionary. So painful. I reaffirmed to myself that I'll learn more in the harder class and would tough out looking foolish. Today's essay is on "What do you think wearing casual clothes to work?"

Tutor: I explained my concern to the teacher and she told me that since I have "Chinese genes" that the class will get easier. Umm.. no? Not sure I believe in that. Anyway, she suggested that I find a student tutor. I asked her how much it costs, and she said anywhere between 20-80 rmb an hour. She said she could introduce me to her old colleague, but it would be 100 rmb an hour. I refused and she recommended I hang out in the student center and scope one out. My cheapo personality tried to get the better of me, and I thought that maybe I could just step up hanging out with my Shanghainese friends and do more language exchanges instead of paying for a tutor. However, I don't think I have all that time, and I first want to focus on improving MY learning before helping someone else. Yes, yes, must be selfish. On top of that, I reminded myself that I came here to learn Chinese, so I better learn it right! I'm spending thousands of dollars to be here - what's another few hundred? So I asked around and saw a girl wrapping up her lesson with another student, and I approached her and asked if she had time for another student. Her name is Tracy, is an English major at Jiao Da, and has a year of tutoring experience. I agreed to try her out through next week and she'll meet with me everyday for one hour. Basically, she's going to be my human dictionary and pronouncer. I am hoping if she helps me read my books and easy newspaper articles I'll gradually recognize more words. Oh, Tracy costs $4 USD an hour! 😊

Other: I have to remind myself the during next two months that I came here to learn Mandarin. Must buckle down and study hard! I'm supposed to know how to write 1,500 words at the end of the class. Ha! Meeting other students has been motivating and I constantly appreciate that I have this unique experience to be here. I see the other college students in the class and I know that I wouldn't appreciate it as much if I had done this while in college. Now and then, I ask myself, "How am I going to use Mandarin in the future?" 80%!o(MISSING)f the students are learning Mandarin so they can work in China. More than 1.3 billion people speak Chinese..... I'm struggling to be one of them! 😊

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