When I got to the university, I took a Chinese language placement exam. I thought it was pretty difficult, and I expected to test into the beginning-level second-semester course. I guess I tested better than I thought, because I’m in the third-semester course. This course has listening, speaking, reading, and comprehensive Chinese classes. I’m also taking a class to prepare for the HSK, which is the Chinese level examination. I will take the HSK in November. Additionally, I am taking a physical education class called tai ji chuan. This is similar to tai chi, but not the same.
My class has about 15 students, and 10 are from Kazakhstan. A plurality of the international students, however, are from Uzbekistan. There aren’t any other Americans, but an English guy named Andy is in my class – we’ve been trying to keep each other sane through this first week of classes, which is hard. We haven’t really hung out, but we’re both really glad that there’s someone else in Lanzhou that we can relate to.
Anyway, my classes are difficult. Every week I am responsible for over 100 new characters, as well as memorizing grammatical structures. I have lots of reading and lots of homework. The hardest part of my classes, however, isn’t the actual material. It’s understanding what my teachers are saying! They speak quickly and, of course, only use Chinese.
I think I’ll do fine in the classes as long as I study every day. In the U.S. (I hope none of my professors are reading this!) I never study. Maybe possibly just before a test, and only a little before final exams. In China, I have class from 8:30 – 12:30 and sometimes again from 2:30 – 4:00. And I spend the entire afternoon and evening studying. Hopefully as my skills improve this semester, I can cut the studying down to 1 or 2 hours per night, but right now it’s kind of ridiculous.
AND one of my teachers rescheduled a class for this Friday night from 7-9 because she can’t make our regular class time. It’s not optional, especially for me since I’m an exchange student. Great.
My class has about 15 students, and 10 are from Kazakhstan. A plurality of the international students, however, are from Uzbekistan. There aren’t any other Americans, but an English guy named Andy is in my class – we’ve been trying to keep each other sane through this first week of classes, which is hard. We haven’t really hung out, but we’re both really glad that there’s someone else in Lanzhou that we can relate to.
Anyway, my classes are difficult. Every week I am responsible for over 100 new characters, as well as memorizing grammatical structures. I have lots of reading and lots of homework. The hardest part of my classes, however, isn’t the actual material. It’s understanding what my teachers are saying! They speak quickly and, of course, only use Chinese.
I think I’ll do fine in the classes as long as I study every day. In the U.S. (I hope none of my professors are reading this!) I never study. Maybe possibly just before a test, and only a little before final exams. In China, I have class from 8:30 – 12:30 and sometimes again from 2:30 – 4:00. And I spend the entire afternoon and evening studying. Hopefully as my skills improve this semester, I can cut the studying down to 1 or 2 hours per night, but right now it’s kind of ridiculous.
AND one of my teachers rescheduled a class for this Friday night from 7-9 because she can’t make our regular class time. It’s not optional, especially for me since I’m an exchange student. Great.
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