Second Week of School

By:

Jennifer Au

Published:

Countries

Demographics

Majors

Regions

Hi Everyone!

So this week, I finally got my classes settled! I’m taking the first level for both listening and writing classes, and the second level for my speaking class. My speaking class is actually pretty difficult because it includes writing characters, but I decided I wanted to challenge myself with at least one class. But with this speaking class, this 2nd week of school was very intense! I might have relaxed too much last week because I had an intense amount of Chinese characters to memorize. I had a dictation on Friday, and I had to start learning 40 powerpoint slides of Chinese characters from scratch. On the actual dictation I managed to get only 40% of the characters, even though I tried my best. However I spoke to the teacher and she said that she would be lenient on me since I’ve never learned how to write. :) I’m hoping to do a lot of catching up on writing, and hopefully things will get easier later on! :)

This is an example of what I'm studying! :)
This is an example of what I’m studying! :)

Well after all that studying, I took a break on Friday and explored another part of Beijing called “Zhongguancun” or “ไธญๅ…ณๆ‘โ€œ! My friend took me to a restaurant known for their Nanjing dishes! I really liked this restaurant because it had a traditional feel to it and the food was delicious! I’ve actually never tried the dishes we ordered, although I have tried many types of Chinese dishes. It’s amazing how different Chinese dishes can be in various provinces!

A peek of the Nanjing Restaurant!
A peek of the Nanjing Restaurant!

-Jen

Jennifer Au

Ni hao! My name is Jennifer Au and I am a fourth year Biology major at the University of California, Irvine. During Fall 2015 I have been given the amazing opportunity to study at Beijing Normal University for four months to learn Mandarin. I chose this program because it was the one option that included an intensive Chinese language program. I want to learn Mandarin so I could better communicate with other individuals including my family in China. It has always been my dream to reach in and discover the culture of my ancestors and who I really am and through this study abroad program, I will be able to incorporate academics and social development with cultural cognizance. My deep rooted desire to study abroad in China as a Chinese American may seem a little predictable, but this desire mainly stems from my upbringing in a predominate Latino neighborhood, in which I assimilated more with the Latino community and felt significantly displaced from my own culture. Iโ€™m looking forward to meeting the locals and practicing Mandarin with them everyday and trying authentic Chinese cuisine, like Peking duck! I also hope to use my Chinese acquisition as a physician assistant to communicate with patients who may speak Chinese.