Classes at Lanzhou

I am taking four different classes at Lanzhou University. I have Chinese grammar (yu fa) four days per week, spoken Chinese (kou yu) three times per week, Chinese characters (han zi) one time per week. My fourth class is a physical education class, tai ji chuan, that I take once per week.

The same students are in all of my classes because of the way the beginning Chinese classes were divided. I study with twelve students, most of whom are Korean. The others are Uzbek, Saudi Arabian, and Canadian.

There was a point a few weeks ago when classes were enjoyable. I had gotten to know my classmates and teachers, and I felt like I was learning so much each day. But now, I’m kind of in a rut. I feel like I’m not learning in class and that I could spend that time studying on my own or practicing speaking.

My classes are one hour and forty minutes long each and they begin every morning at nine. Sometimes I don’t think I can sit through another class.

I’m hoping things get better because I still have two and a half months of classes left.