More Info on Living in Beijing

I felt like I had already found everything I could possibly want to find about living in Beijing and then I found the official Beijing/China website. On there you can learn the history of various tourist attractions there among other things. What I found most interesting is the page that talks about the laws, residence permits, and how to buy a proper house. There's also lists of foreign hospitals and foreign neighborhoods. It even has a section dedicated to the student district.
Here's the website.

Nothing to Say

I didn't go to Chinese Monday because my ankle hurt and it's been a long term problem so I went to the doctor instead. Now, because I also have hip problems, I'm having blood work done and an x-ray of my hip being taken. And this is all happening during my second to last week of classes- just as I need to be researching and writing papers.
sigh, this term needs to end.

Au Pair Part 2

I really hate this going back and forth between places- even if it's just on weekends. It completely throws me off when it comes to writing these things and doing homework.
Anyway, so I decided to tell my mom about the au pair program. For those of you who haven't heard me talk about her won't know that if I ever complain about her it's about how she never gives her opinion on anything.
For example, I have a dream (perhaps a "goal" would be better) to be fluent in French. I took about four or five years of it in school and I feel like it would be a waste of those years to not at least try to become fluent in it. So I decided I would spend my last year in college taking classes again and really try to speak it. However, taking Chinese and French at the same time seemed really daunting but I really wanted to learn. I talked it over with my boyfriend who's opinion I hold higher than probably anyone else's and my mom. My mom is always supportive so I don't know why I always try to get her opinion. She believes I am "impressionable" and therefore is afraid I'll change my mind I guess? I don't know. Anyway she was very supportive. However, when it came down to it I realized I really needed to focus on Chinese because I wasn't doing as well in it as I wanted to be doing and so gave up the plan. About a week later I'm talking to my mom and I tell her I'm not taking French and I'm just going to do Chinese. Well that "just" led to inquiries which revealed my mom believed I was planning on dropping Chinese entirely and picking up French as my major. Which would mean, like, two more years in college.
Are you kidding me?!
Your daughter is about to throw a year of work away when she's so close when she's already so much in debt and you believe she's absolutely crazy and you don't say anything?!
So when I told my mom about the au pair program I was expecting her support and maybe catching a little of whatever she might actually be worried about.
Yeah, that's not what happened.
She flat out said no. I'm not doing it.
Her reason was very good and something I hadn't thought about. Not that I don't believe it is a great opportunity and great experience but she mentioned, among other things, my loans. I have to start paying one loan three months after I graduate. That first bill might be around $200 and even if I were paid the top amount of 1200 RMB (or kuai) for the program the exchange rate would allow me to pay the bill. And then 6 months after graduating I have to start paying off everything and the bill will be higher than that. So going for a year is out of the question. Honestly, going for 3 months might be out of the question, not only because of the loans but because of the program costs! They end up equally between $400 and $500 dollars. In 3 months, at the top pay I'd make about $571. That's barely breaking even- I might as well save that money to pay the loan.
So Mom said no and she was right. The money isn't there. This still begs the question why on earth did she not say anything about two more years of college and therefore two more years of loans?!

Au Pair Program

I just got back from a study abroad meeting about a chance to visit China during the D-Term (December term: in a trimester program we have December off). I was there to talk about my experiences in China and help anyone who was interested. Anyway, there was a lady there talking about another program that's not affiliated with the school. Basically, you have the chance to be an au pair for a Chinese family for 3 months, 6 months, or a full year. I'm really interested but she said it was best to do before you graduate; however, the only time I have before I graduate to do this would be this summer. That would mean I'd be in China 6 months straight, assuming I'm accepted to the Fall program. I don't know if I can really do that, I mean, especially on short notice. I mean, I technically could. Really, I just don't want to be separated from my boyfriend for that long. That one month I spent in China was like torture so we'll see how 3 months goes for the Fall program with the school.
I think what I'll end up doing is going to China this fall and then after I graduate I'll decide if I want to stay for another 3 months, 6 months, or go the full year. I know you get something more if you sign up for a year. The pay is equal to the amount paid for English teachers there and you get free Chinese classes with this program along with guided tours.

If your interested in this program just email apply@eastArete.com and they'll be able to send you the application. There is a $200 security deposit and I don't know if there are refunds if you drop out so you'll have to ask.

VPN

If you've ever been to China then you know they don't have Facebook. They also don't have Youtube or Gmail which probably means they don't have Blogger either. When I first went there last summer I had no idea these websites were blocked and was devastated. So this year I'm definitely getting a VPN so I can still use Facebook and blog about my experiences. I found an article that lists their best picks for VPNs for China. The average price is $20, which I expected. There are free ones but they aren't supposed to be as good.

Addition: I realized I never explained what a VPN is. Basically it's like a webpage that allows you to view other webpages within it. At least that's how it looks on a computer. That's how I get past the firewall. Ok! The End!

"Learning XYZ as a second language"

I just finished reading a blog entry that was about successful language learning which I found very interesting. It took into account and looked at language learning from a different angle. I'm not going to copy-and-paste the whole thing here because I feel like that'd be plagiarism so I'll just post the link. I really think you should look at it though; I found it very interesting.

Commenting on the entry, (I'm assuming you read it) I'm going to have to agree through my own experiences. I've had teachers where there was little-to-no challenge and learned some and a teacher that was difficult to understand and learned nearly nothing. I'm not sure if she was implying that it was anyone's fault or rather stating an observation. I believe you should cater to your audience.

I'm going to be fine

http://www.stuckinbeijing.com/beijingprices.php

Spaghetti - 500g	¥11.90	$1.88
Ragu Spaghetti Sauce - 737g	¥28.60	$4.54

Oh yes. I will be just fine in Beijing. :)

...when suddenly...

I actually sat down to write characters. It is the one thing I know I need to do but could never bring myself to do on my own. So I was writing each phrase/character about 20x each when suddenly the coffee cup on the side table exploded.
No seriously, I was just sitting at the opposite side of the room and it just.. well, nothing touched it... my best guess is because it had been dirty for a while and the coffee cracking that perhaps it cracked the cup. It was sitting right on the edge of the table so maybe it cracked, lost it's balance, fell, and smashed to smithereens. It took another coffee mug down with it but thankfully that one survived. The other didn't.
I screamed.
I was all alone in the dorm just writing my characters, minding my own business when I heard something move and then crack! smash! And then the other cup fell down with it! Pieces of ceramic all over the floor. I really couldn't help myself.
And that was my experience of doing what I should be doing. Getting scared out of my wits and having a mess to clean.

BLCU Housing Info

I thought this was really interesting.
A Chinese forum where someone decided to talk about their experiences with the housing staff. It's first come, first serve and there's no possibility to reserve. That's makes me wonder how things will happen with our school. I wonder if we'll be staying at the Student International place or the Conference Center or if we're going to be on my own. I hope we aren't on our own because I don't expect my Chinese to be very good. However, the program I'm trying to join I'm pretty sure I'm on my own. We'll see. Definitely some interesting information though.
Just in case it wasn't clear, this is the school I've applied to study at. This is a video someone made of the campus too!

Study Abroad

I went to Chinese class today which is now all about creating a Chinese persona. There are two people in my class who will be at Peking University this coming fall and are very excited and celebrating. I'm of course still waiting. However, we had a guest today, the lady in charge of study abroad, so I asked her what to expect and what "pending" actually meant. She said as long as my GPA doesn't go down I'll be fine. I'll know as soon as my grades are turned in from this semester whether or not I'm going.
So that's good news but at the same time that's still pressure on making sure these classes are good.
Oh, and Gap isn't hiring. They just keep that application thing up all the time. Go figure- I'm going to try Barnes and Noble next probably.

College is Hard

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this lately. I've had a lot of things due and I haven't been managing my time wisely (of course). Actually the biggest problem was that, although a lot has been happening with me, none of it has anything to do with Chinese. That is, until today.
Today I received a letter regarding my application to study abroad this Fall and my acceptance is "pending" because my GPA isn't high enough. I have so many credits that even though I've retaken classes my GPA only went up .1 points. Not even kidding, just a point 1. As if I didn't need anymore pressure regarding the classes of this term. I also found out I will need $400 to deposit by March 30th and take a class during the spring term.  The latter means I might have to drop a class with a teacher I really like and have had twice this year because she gives too much work for me to handle four classes. The former means I really need to call Gap and find out the status of my application. That, or win the lottery.
I haven't heard anything from the companies I sent my resume to, inquiring about possible internship opportunities. That doesn't seem like a good sign.

Grammar Book

All I have to say today is I lent someone my Chinese textbook because I had bought a Chinese grammar book and figured that could answer any of my questions. I'm not saying it doesn't have the grammar I'm looking for within it but the chapter summaries aren't helping me find it! What a waste. I have another grammar book which isn't supposed to be as good but I know it described it's contents by their proper grammatical terms so perhaps I'll be able to find what I'm looking for in there.

The grammar book first mentioned is titled Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide. The second grammar book is titled English Grammar for Students of Chinese.

More Advice On Learning Chinese

Sorry sorry sorry! I meant to blog about this Saturday but I celebrated Valentine's Day and totally forgot.
Anyway, Friday my Chinese class had a guest who has been studying Chinese for 50 years. He gave us a lot of  advice that I'd like to share.

1. Be a 4 year old.-Basically, your new at learning the language so don't be too hard on yourself. Speak elementary Chinese if you have to!
2. Open your ears- listen to everything and mimic the natives.
3. Memorize- he specifically mentioned writing characters a bunch of times and building your vocabulary.
4. Read the Newspaper - he specifically said the newspaper because they use set terms and write to the masses.
5. Absorb everything, go with the flow - he specifically mentioned learning sayings and the history. Apparently, to understand some of the sayings you need to understand the history. You also need to know some Chinese poetry and literature.
6. Geography- this one I added from another guest we had earlier. He said knowing the geography sets you apart from other Westerners because it shows an added interest in the country. It also would certainly help you when trying to get around or understand somethings.
7. Take on a Chinese Persona! - He said if you act Chinese you're more believable and you pick up more. He said it was a lot like acting.

One girl asked about how to reorganize your thoughts because some Chinese phrases aren't put together like ours or you have to have them in a different order. He said the only thing to do was "drill, drill, drill."

But what was most interesting to me was the fact he was not taught characters for two months in his first language classes. He said they used a textbook but focused on pronunciation and pinyin. Overtime his class slowly learned characters.

This goes back to my theory of why on earth are we taught everything at once (reading, writing, listening, speaking) when we naturally learn a language through listening and speaking first. It honestly must be because of a time crunch. I see no other good reason when I can't think of one person who learned everything at once and is fluent in the language.

The Painting

I woke up today thinking about this piece of art my Dad gave me since I'm so interested in East Asia. It was given to him by his dad, who served in WWII in the Pacific. I'm not sure if he got it there or if he bought it somewhere here in America but it's definitely East Asian. There's no seal on it so I can't know who made it. My guess is the buildings in the painting are Chinese architecture but I'm not an expert. The scene was also painted on a fabric, but I don't think it's silk. There are some words but they're in characters which both Japan and China use. All I can really rule out is Korea. One of these days I'll take it to someone who can actually tell me about it. Until then, I'm just going to have to keep calling it "The Painting."

Disorganization

I presented my Chinese presentation on Chicago and it went well.
I wish I had more to say tonight but I am SO tired. I feel like I ran around all day today. My midterm in Chinese is Friday. Also, my teacher is recruiting people to join this class about Chinese movies. It seems like as long as she reaches a certain number of people then she can have the class. Honestly, I just want to wait until it's accepted and then join by just clicking "register" and not filling out paperwork, writing a one-page statement about why I want the class, and then making a meeting with my adviser to have her sign things.
It's all just incredibly unorganized which I'm starting to feel like is a trait of people who grow up in mainland China.

Excruciating

I have a presentation in Chinese tomorrow and I have to create and memorize 12 sentences. Why is that so hard? I think it's worse than normal because I don't know what to say even in English. But still, creating a sentence is worse than waiting for the bus in the middle of winter.

God, when is this going to get easier?

How to Learn Chinese Characters

I have always had a problem with remembering Chinese characters or 汉字。So finally after doing poorly on a number of quizzes I decided to ask around. I've decided to post the tips here in case there's someone else with the same problem reading this. That person can then find the tool that works best for them.

1. Write the Characters
The most popular tip I've found is just writing the characters. It sounds easy but I mean write them each at least twenty times. The repetition is supposed to fix it in your memory and your hand gets the feel of the character- almost like imprinting it on your brain. The problem is after a while of not using the character it can be forgotten and you would have to write them all over again so you need to keep using the characters and keep them fresh in your mind.

2. Create a Story
Another technique I've heard is creating a story based on the character to help you remember what each character means and how to write it. There are a number of books that you can buy that use this approach and teach characters with pictures next to them to help you envision the story. The most common example I've heard is the story behind 好 which means "good"。The left-side means "woman" and the right-side means "boy; child." The story goes that it's good if a woman has a boy in Chinese society.

3. Flashcards
A tool that can really be used for learning anything is using flashcards. I've personally used this before and it works wonderfully. After a while of using them in different ways I can recognize the characters as well as how to pronounce them and their meanings. The problem I found with this system is that I can't produce the characters but scribble something close to the image in my mind.

4. Teaching Someone Else
It's like you're reviewing except you're so focused on teaching/helping the other person it won't feel as much as a chore.

5. Read the Dictionary
A recent technique I found was simply reading a Chinese dictionary. The dictionary is written by sound and one will notice eventually how characters of the same sound are written similarly. Characters are made of components, one part phonetic (how it sounds) and another part semantic (meaning). Sometimes a character can give clues to both phonetic and semantic. One teacher concluded  "Thus my method of teaching characters consists of breaking down characters into phonetic families and teaching the students how an addition of one or more semantic components to a phonetic one builds up a new character."

6. Master the Radicals
A lot of sources talk about learning the radicals, which are apart of every character. Once you've mastered those, you will notice how characters are just combined characters even easier. This is also good because if you need to know a character but don't know the pinyin or the meaning then you must look up the character by it's radical.

7. Speak as you Write
This technique is just as it sounds. As you write the character say the character aloud.

I found one website that had a lot of advice on how to practice Chinese once you learn which strategy works for you.

Good Luck!

Bound Feet

I had a read a few novels describing bound feet but it is something else when you actually see bound feet.

I guess I should stop complaining about how much skinny jeans hurt...

Internships

Today I started looking for internships. I actually applied for one over a week ago but they haven't contacted me at all and so I'm looking into other places. I actually saw one that was really interesting for Seattle University. It was a summer camp that dealt with immersion for students learning Mandarin and I would be a teacher's assistant. This meant I would help collect and grade papers but I would also be taught how to evaluate students' progress and other language teaching skills. The pay was $500 which wouldn't help me much at all. I'd need a place to stay after all and I doubt $500 would do it... It was two weeks long so a hotel room for two weeks for about $70/night... yeah, no, I'd have one week paid...
Then I noticed the camp was for the year 2010... not 2012..
I still might ask if the university is hosting the camp again this summer because the idea is really to be around the language as much as possible and that would definitely be helpful. Maybe now they offer more money too. I'll have to email the person and ask.
Anyway, there are a number of companies in Chicago that teach Chinese and deal with Chinese but I haven't seen any possible internships. I'll have to start emailing around asking if they need free/cheap labor.

Aftershock

I just finished watching one of the movies I had bought. It's called Aftershock and it's about the earthquake in Tangshan city in 1976 where 240,000 people perished. It is absolutely the most sad story I have ever heard but at the same time it's very good. I really can't say anymore or I'll give the story away. It was incredibly moving.
There are a couple things I want to say about it. For one thing, it features the Red Guards. Apparently, they were part of the Tangshan rescue crew. They also show the Red Guards still together when Mao dies. I thought they were disbanded before then but China probably knows their own history better than I know it.
Also, they featured English in the movie, which was interesting. They had a Canadian in the movie but.. the English was all wrong... or he didn't act at all... I can't put my finger on it. The main woman and the daughter spoke English but this guy spoke English as if he were reading off a script, with little to no emotion whatsoever. It was like I was watching one of those language learning movies and they told the actor not to put emotion in his voice because the students would have a harder time understanding him. It was very weird. The movie was absolutely incredible though.
My eyes are completely red from crying but I am so glad I bought this movie.