OK, so this photo shows our entire Mandarin class, which we go to every day from 10:00am to 12:00pm. It is the 'absolute beginner' class, which may even be a little advanced for us.
Our teacher, Maggie, is very nice and likes to laugh a lot. Here is a picture of her laughing at what I can only assume is our butchered attempts at pronunciation. Seriously though, Mandarin is tough. Like, if you ask for a baozi one way, you will ask for a steamed bun stuffed with meat (popular for breakfast). If you ask for a baozi another way, you will be asking for a leopard. It's all about what tone you place over the word that you say.
As Melissa said below, our days are packed with stressful activities. Mandarin is really tough, but it is being overshadowed by practicum lesson planning. Each day we must create a different lesson plan and teach it to a group of 20-25 Chinese students. So, as you can imagine, we don't get a whole lot of time to study Mandarin. The one time that we do get to practice is by going out to dinner, and the results have been delicious. We're actually getting OK at ordering food, and we get served what we order about 90% of the time. More on that later though...~ Cullen
4 comments:
Well, you'll just have to get them to speak English! By this time next year you will have contributed to that goal, but it's great to learn as much Mandarin as possible because it is a language with a long history and big future. We love your blog!
The Chinese guy I work with confirms that Mandarin is a very hard language to learn. You guys are doing great, and you've already accomplished anamazing amount. We love your commentary and the photos are great!!
One time I walked into a bar in Boston, ordered a beer and got mauled by a Grizzly. Funny how dialects work out like that.
Maggie's hot! Can I have her phone number? Even though it's long-disatnce, I feel like we could make it work. She could send pictures of herself and I could send her pictures of Brad Pitt. It'll be awesome!
ps. I was joking about the Grizzly bear.
pps. I like your blog.
ppps. I'm glad you're having fun!
Final Thought: The USA *RAWKS* in Chinatown!!! GO Team USA!!!
(I think I've embarrassed you two enough. Bu-Bye!!)
thanks!
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