I have plans to reinvigorate my Chinese skills this summer. They involve ChinesePod lessons via the magic of the internet, old textbooks, a couple of books my old language partner gave me (including a book of children's rhymes and Chinese for Leisure Life, which will teach me vocab for small talk and tourism), and watching Chinese-language movies.
I was planning on making myself only watch Chinese movies without subtitles (and then with them to understand more, and then again without to cement new words), but that didn't work at the first go. I can understand a bit and kind of stumble along with the plot, but I was getting quite bored missing all the jokes and subtleties of the dialogue, so I think my plan is now to watch movies first with subtitles and then again just once without them. Hopefully I'll be able to return to Plan A and maybe even be able to just understand movies by watching them in Chinese by the time I fly. Probably not, but I'll aim for it.
Um, also? August 16th is not very far off. And keeps getting closer. I've said this a lot of times to anyone who's been willing to listen to me think out loud about China recently, but I'm freaking out a bit. Part of me has been so ready to go live abroad, actually live abroad and not know when I'm coming home so I can really let myself get used to it, that watching friends graduate and move away (even just move on with their lives in IC) has been torture. But, as my departure keeps marching closer, another part of me has been gaining volume. "Iowa's really not so bad, yeah? Let's not- let's not do anything rash here, ok? China is pretty freaking far away," It says.
I keep realizing a little bit at a time just how far I'll be going and just how many people I won't see again for at least a year, even if I don't get a job in China after I finish my certificate. China is really far. I am going to miss you very much.
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Argh, that voice! That voice is plaguing me, and I'm not even leaving the country.
ReplyDeleteBut you will do well. You will! And we will all remember you when you come back and are awesome, and then we will hang out and listen to all the wonderful stories you have to tell.
For what it's worth, my experience in moving away has been:
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely hard to leave home, especially when it is a place you love, with all of the people you love. But, Iowa will always be there, and in my experience, it doesn't change too much. The experiences you will have on your own, in you own way, are so important to your personal development, and whether they are good or bad, give you all sorts of perspective.
你聽的懂中文？
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