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[screaming continues]
Sep. 27th, 2005 09:52 am我很忙！
So, remember how I said that the Chinese class felt like it was just about to shift into high gear, and that the screaming would commence shortly?
Right.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last night was a three-hour study session where I scrambled to stay just a little ahead of the class. I'm armed with the textbook, the workbook, my notebook, a really good reference website, a dictionary, and a book of characters (with stroke orders and a radical index). By the time I was done, I had that "brain is full" feeling that results when I've acquired a lot of new ideas at a rapid rate, and my brain needs some time to sort them all. Damn, that feels good.
I'm definitely in the groove.
I absorb pictographs like a super-absorbent roll of conceptual paper towel.
I can make up little one-sentence stories for characters that are so ridiculous that even I can't forget them.
In short, I'm a student again. I could feel that little twinge of anxiety that signals that I'm building new paths in my brain. I haven't been this tightly scheduled in my entire adult life.
Observation: While I used to take the tack that "when you're a student, you're a student 24/7", I'm learning that that isn't completely true. You're done when you've assimilated the required material. It's only now that I'm establishing a routine of "studying a little every night and getting the homework done in advance" that allows me to remain sane, and not have lingering guilt over "not having done enough".
This will continue throughout the next few months, and likely longer if I succeed in this course and do something foolish like take second-semester Chinese. I will also note that it could go longer than that if I decide I want to go through two full years of Chinese so that I can take the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试) and actually get certified in Chinese proficiency. There is no sane explanation for any of this, but I'm having way too much fun to care.
再见
Update: Just got my first exam back. 93/100! AWWWWWWWWW YEAH!!!!!
So, remember how I said that the Chinese class felt like it was just about to shift into high gear, and that the screaming would commence shortly?
Right.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last night was a three-hour study session where I scrambled to stay just a little ahead of the class. I'm armed with the textbook, the workbook, my notebook, a really good reference website, a dictionary, and a book of characters (with stroke orders and a radical index). By the time I was done, I had that "brain is full" feeling that results when I've acquired a lot of new ideas at a rapid rate, and my brain needs some time to sort them all. Damn, that feels good.
I'm definitely in the groove.
I absorb pictographs like a super-absorbent roll of conceptual paper towel.
I can make up little one-sentence stories for characters that are so ridiculous that even I can't forget them.
In short, I'm a student again. I could feel that little twinge of anxiety that signals that I'm building new paths in my brain. I haven't been this tightly scheduled in my entire adult life.
Observation: While I used to take the tack that "when you're a student, you're a student 24/7", I'm learning that that isn't completely true. You're done when you've assimilated the required material. It's only now that I'm establishing a routine of "studying a little every night and getting the homework done in advance" that allows me to remain sane, and not have lingering guilt over "not having done enough".
This will continue throughout the next few months, and likely longer if I succeed in this course and do something foolish like take second-semester Chinese. I will also note that it could go longer than that if I decide I want to go through two full years of Chinese so that I can take the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试) and actually get certified in Chinese proficiency. There is no sane explanation for any of this, but I'm having way too much fun to care.
再见
Update: Just got my first exam back. 93/100! AWWWWWWWWW YEAH!!!!!
