Well I’m officially 1 week into my Chinese studies. And wow, it’s been one heck of a week.
My days have consisted of:
7:00am: wake up
7:30am: stop by the cafeteria to get a baozi to go and then head to class
8:00-12:00: Chinese class
12:00-1:30: Private Tutoring
2:00-7:00: Atempted Studying…
7:30-9:00: Language Clinic
9:00-???: More homework/character flashcards/practice
Let’s just say that, even though I’m in the beginning level, I’m in no want of more Chinese practice. We spent the first 1.5 classes working on pinyin pronounciation and tones. I swear I felt like I was in chorus. We were practically singing the tones for the first day. And my hour of tutoring has been nothing but drilling phoenics and pronounciation. I suddenly found out that there’s a difference in a zhan or zhang, or xiao or shao.
One of my classmates said it best: they were teaching us to chirp.
But despite being exhausted after 5 hours of class a day, I’ve really enjoyed getting back into the rythem of classes and having a schedule. I’ve seen my Chinese improve even over the 4 short days of class, and I was able to feel fairly confident going into my first exam that was this morning. Learning Chinese has tapped into a whole new set of skills, ones that I never knew I had until I tried.