Putting the "study" in study abroad

Classes have started!

And now begins my formal education in China. Last week Tuesday, after two weeks of settling in, we finally began classes. I was really glad when we got started because a big reason I’m here in China is to dig into the language as much as possible. The first few weeks here I heard a lot of Chinese but wasn’t able to absorb or practice very much of it. It was all a little overwhelming and very easy to rely on people in the group who knew a lot of Chinese. Now with classes I’m more motivated to try out more Chinese.

A big challenge has been getting over the anxiety of saying things incorrectly. I tend to not say anything if I’m not sure if I can say it right. My host family in the Netherlands teased me that I didn’t say much of anything in Dutch until I started speaking in completely full and correct sentences. This was pretty much the case. I really wanted to observe and grasp the language as much as possible before jumping in. Now I’m doing my best to jump in a little earlier so that I can learn from my mistakes. As a rule, no one really enjoys learning from mistakes, but I’m hoping for good results. Also, I am hoping for a lot of very patient Chinese speakers. --- Just wait for it…I will eventually reach the end of the sentence.

Language classes span the week from Monday to Friday, from 8:00 to 11:30. On Tuesday our class is in the afternoon instead of morning. I was put in level 1.5 after some placement tests. The oral exam was short, but the written exam made my brain ache after four months of school-free summer. My brain is fine now, and its contained Chinese knowledge was pretty well matched up to the right level. Our first week of classes has been moderately intense review of many characters and things I learned in last year’s beginning Chinese. We’re reviewing the goodies like greetings, introductions, money, family, and food. I have to work the most at remembering the characters that go along with the words we’re learning. We have three different teacher: for comprehensive Chinese, listening, and speaking. All of our teachers are Chinese women who are really very nice, but mean business. Our comprehensive teacher isn’t opposed to giving extra homework to those late for class. She is very good at explaining grammar points though and noticed the day that I had a bad cold and kindly told me to drink lots of water and rest. Our speaking teacher is a ball of energy whose voice could break through the walls. There’s no way we miss the tones of the words when she’s talking. We got to introduce our family with a picture in class the other day, and she was so amazed how handsome and beautiful (shuai, piaoliang) everyone in my picture was. She has a way of saying things with her eyes almost as big as her voice that makes “so beautiful, so handsome” very funny.



While classes have just started, we actually have a little vacation coming up. Next week is a week-long national holiday, which is when most in China will get out of school and work and go visit family and travel. We are having school Saturday and Sunday this week to make up the vacation time. Our group, however, leaves Saturday night for Beijing! As comes with the Central China program package, we are spending a week in Beijing. We leave by train Saturday night, and will travel for about 14 hours. The agenda for the week includes the Forbidden Palace, the Great Wall, the old and new royal palaces, and a great restaurant where we’ll have some Peking duck. I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m sure it will be an amazing, exhausting, scenic, and incredible trip. Actually, those adjectives probably sum up my time in China so far. Now, as I continue with classes, I should probably add “educational” to the mix. What’s a study abroad without a little studying?