Language Progress Update

I should also give an update on my language progress. Even though it doesnt feel like it, I have definitely made a lot of progress with my Chinese. I think I am at least at the survival level where I can accomplish the essential life requirements to get around in China. It is still definitely challenging, especially capturing the tones correctly. You can know how a word is spelled in pinyin but if you say it with the wrong tone it is a completely different word. So this aspect of my Chinese is what I want to improve the most.

I had one discouraging experience this past weekend when a few other students, my roommate and I went out to eat and then walked around a shopping area in Harbin. In one of the stores we were talking to the store people who were excited and surprised that we could speak Chinese. They brought up the American election, our economic crisis and other topics. I was adding little to the conversation but still able to follow what was being talked about. Then out of the blue, one of the ladies told my friend, "oh your chinese is very good." Then gestured to me and said, "Oh, and yours, not so good."

Ouch! First of all, I wanted to say, tell me something I dont know. And what am I supposed to say to that. I just said thank you in the most sarcastic way my Chinese was capable of. I talked to my roommate later about this and asked him isnt this kind of a rude thing to say to a complete stranger. He said that NE Chinese, women especially (his words), have a reputation to speak very zhishuai or frank. So dont be offended. Easier said then done I guess.

One thing that is hard about talking to Chinese people is the way they look at you when you are speaking Chinese. A lot of times they will look at you like you are either from another planet or will just laugh at you. The second one is the worst because it just makes you feel like an idiot. I know that this kind of body language is not on purpose, and Im sure Americans do the same to foreigners back in the states, but it can be discouraging.

My classes are still going pretty well, they are much more clear than they were in the beginning of the semester. One thing that has been interesting is the teaching methods because they are pretty much the same as I would expect back in the states. One thing different is that you actually have to spend a lot of time on your own studying, that is something that a lot of Americans are not used to. Teachers always tell you that you should be studying as much time on your own as you have class hours in a week, which of course no one really takes seriously. But here it is definitely true. Some days I probably spend much more time studying on my own than in the classroom.

I was expecting realy strict disciplinarians as teachers when I came to China, but they are all very nice and encouraging. Half of my teachers are still in their 20s so this makes class a little more interesting because it is more fun to talk to people closer to your own age. I do have one teacher that is a little different then the others and better fits the mold of what I was expecting before I came here. She just isnt really encouraging and I often get frustrated by her teaching style. She has a way of unintentionally (I hope) of making me feel stupid. For example last week we read this newspaper article and were answering true or false questions about the material:

Teacher: Dou Ning, do you think number 1 is dui bu dui (true or not true)

Dou Ning: Hmmm, dui

Teacher: Ohhhhhh (with a look of shock on her face), Dou Ning thinks dui (long pause). Liu Yu, Li Hua (my classmates) what do you think?

Li Hua, Liu Yu: Bu dui.

Teacher: So, Liu Yu and Li Hua both think bu dui. So Dou Ning, why do you think dui?

Dou Ning: Hmmmm (not having anything to say), because I think it is dui.

To me it comes off as, I just cannot believe you do not know the right answer. This is so easy and simple. Also, sometimes when one of us says something incorrectly she will ask the rest of us if we agree with what the person says. So we are forced to say something like, "I dont agree, what that person said was wrong." But who likes correcting your classmates (or being corrected by them)? Basically, Im not a huge fan of her style.

But I also think we as Americans are used to encouragement and be coddled more so than most other places in the world. For exmple, this teacher is really hard on our class because she really wants us to improve and thinks that this is the best way to do it. Anyone bad feelings on my part are just a result of differences in culture. And I can only imagine how frustrating it is on her end. If she were writing a blog it would probably twice as long as mine with frustrating stories.

A lot of times I feel like my ego and self esteem need more encouragement to keep me going strong. But again this probably comes from my American upbringing. Things are different here and I just have to get used to it. No other way around it.