The Beginning... Well, Sort Of...

Welcome to SyLife: A Year in Shanghai!

I guess I felt like this short chapter of my life was worth documenting, so here I am.

I've been in China for about 6 weeks now and I've had classes for 4 or 5 of them. I originally thought the class I was placed in was too easy for me. Perhaps in a sense it is-- My grammar is definitely more advanced than my classmates', but I'm seriously lacking in the vocab department. I'm also still catching on to the whole simplified character thing. Which basically means that I often find myself looking stupid in class-- any time it's my turn to read aloud and I don't recognize a character, or when I try to explain something and can't come up with the words. At least if you know a lot of words/recognize a lot of characters, you can string them together and people can sort of piece together what you're trying to say. Or you can read a passage without pausing even if you have no idea what you just read.

Despite the frequent moments of embarrassment in front of my 8 other classmates, I have to say I think I would rather be in my boat than theirs. Language is about how words relate to each other and if you don't understand that, then you don't understand the language. Anyone can memorize a bunch of definitions, right? I admit that I used to criticize the Maryland Chinese program, but I have to say I think it actually gave me a decent foundation in Chinese. And the class that probably helped me the most was Branner's CHIN207, even if I did get a D. Just goes to show that grades don't mean anything because I got my lowest grade in a class that I learned the most in. But that's another story for another time.

Anyways, given my current situation, I'm up to my elbows in flashcards, and when you're as short as I am, that phrase takes on a very literal meaning.

I'm also getting to a point where Chinese is becoming very frustrating. It's no wonder that almost 10% of the population here is illiterate. As I learn more characters, it becomes harder and harder to keep track of past ones and I still don't see much improvement in my reading.

I'll be posting here regularly, so check back for the latest on my life in China and leave me some love because I miss everyone at home! <3

Back to my flashcards!