learn chinese

I should update more often!
So I went through Middlebury just fine, although I don’t know if I will be recommending the first year Chinese experience to anyone else anytime soon. But still! I have kept studying Chinese and! as of yesterday, learned that I have received a grant to study a topic of my choosing in Beijing this coming summer – my hope is to use what Chinese skills I have to learn about perceptions of loan words. Very excited. So Beijing, wo lai le!

Middlebury = not for the faint of heart
(I just took my midterm (oral and written) so I believe I am entitled to post in English…)

however. wo zuotian chi wan fan de shihou, gen yige tongxue (zai Mingde Daxue shi er nian ji de Zhongwen xuesheng, keshi zai wode daxue, qunian women dou shi yi nian ji de xuesheng) tan yi tan! Suoyi, wo juede Mingde hao jile – wo si ge xingqi yiqian lai Mingde. Shenme dou bu zhidao. Xianzai wo neng gen yige ren shuo Zongwen le. Wode shengdiao hai shi bu hao, keshi mei tian shang ke de shihou, lianxi fayin…
(haiyou, wo hen xihuan kan Zhongguo dianying! Wo mei yi ge xingqi wu, xingqi liu qu kan dianying.)

I’m sure that’s quite full of grammatical errors, but so it goes. And yes, I can write characters (fantizi.) And compared to where I was after four weeks of Spanish (“Yo soy…yo tengo mi libro!”) it’s pretty good. The problem is that I am forgetting Spanish at a frightening pace, which makes my Borges class (all papers and lectures in Spanish) this next semester rather terrifying.)

This seems to be paying off, though this is by far the least relaxed summer I have ever had. It even makes my school look pretty manageable.
Zai jian!

I am at Middlebury. I start class Tuesday…I am wearing a button that says “CH” so the townsfolk will know to not let English near my virgin ears.

Glee!

I am going to Middlebury Chinese School!!!!!!

(I thought I had missed the boat for applying and would thus be booted firmly out of the running, but ! I was wrong!)
June 16th, I wait for thee!

Okay: The change.
I ended up applying for Middlebury Language School in Mandarin Chinese due to the commute that would be required for me to continue Arabic here. Redirected excitement:) I’m awaiting the answer to whether or not I got in – I should know shortly.

What a character I’m be (ha!.)