Interesting things heard in Chinese class....

Well, it's become something of a hobby of mine to record "Engrish" phrases that I hear during the days and nights in NC. I jotted a few things down during grammar class today I thought were worth sharing.

Chinese people in the south have a tendency to replace their "r" sounds with "l". An interesting proof of this problem came today when our teacher was describing the "r" sound to our class. So she said, "when the class will end the bell will ling."

So other interesting things heard today: "Do you like the flavor of acid?" This was used to describe the word "suan" which I always thought referred to something that is sour. Apparently, it refers to something that is acid.

Also, during a meeting last week we were reminded that studying dilligently was very important to our "daily knife."

School is going well, albeit a little slow in my mind since I studied all summer. We spent three hours of grammar class reviewing syllables and I thought I was going to pass out! Somehow I managed to survive. It's fun to be with other students though. Our class has about 5 Africans, 6 or 7 Koreans, 2 Japanese guys, and the Canadian kid I mentioned earlier. It's a good mix. The Africans have had a lot of trouble with the sounds. It's been really interesting listening to people from different backgrounds speak Chinese. Honestly, we all sound pretty terrible at this point. But, hey- it's only the first week.

I never did post anything about our wonderful trip to Guilin. We just did a picture exchange with some of the other folks on the trip recently, so I should get those posted on our main site sooner or later. Maybe Jenny and I can collaborate on a little travelogue of our visit. I'm not making any promises though. Right now, between going to my classes, playing with Gracie, and visiting with folks we don't have a ton of time right now. Life is in full swing again.

School Daze....

Well, as of this week I am officially a international student in China! School started on Monday, and things are going pretty well so far. Honestly, it's pretty slow. The school hasn't provided our text books yet, so the teachers are having to sort of come up with things to do. I'm feeling the double-edged sword of having studied Chinese all summer. On the one hand it's an advantage because I can understand most of what my teacher's say, and have a good handle on the sounds, syllables, and writing of the language. On the other hand, most of the students in my class can't speak a lick of Chinese, and so we've spent most of the week learning how to say "Ni Hao" and stuff like that. At the rate we're going, it seems like it's going to be a long time before I get back to where I left off at the end of the summer. I'm hoping for the possibility of another class that's a bit more with where I am. So- 16 hours a week- grammar, oral Chinese, and listening. I'm 31 years old, with a bachelors, a masters, a wife, and a nine-months old and here I am a full-time student again. Jenny told me this morning as I was going to class, hair disshelved and coffee cup in hand, that I look like the average American college student that just rolled out of bed before class. Ahh, school daze are here.