In the morning, we have Chinese class for two hours. Although I'm still struggling, it was surprising how quickly I caught on. It does make a difference that our group has befriended a university student that we practice our Chinese with. He has been taking us out to eat and joining us on our tours.
Chinese is actually quite simple, grammer-wise and Mandarin (one dialect of Chinese, the other is Cantonese, which has nine tones) only has four tones. This means that when you pronounce a word, the inflection in your voice gives it its meaning. The four tones are as such, - / \ v. The lines indicate the direction of inflection of your voice, say the right word with the wrong inflection and it comes out completely different!
In the afternoon, we have history/cultural lectures with a professor from the university. His stories of ancient Chinese history are interesting, if you can follow his very accented English. I would love to understand one of his Chinese lectures, I believe he would be excellent.
The landscaping of Xi'an Jiaotong University campus is very elaborate. There are miniature parks, tree lined streets, beautiful rose beds, and fountains. My favorite place is a small grassy area surrounded by an array of different indigenous trees with a small pond and bridge.
Chinese is actually quite simple, grammer-wise and Mandarin (one dialect of Chinese, the other is Cantonese, which has nine tones) only has four tones. This means that when you pronounce a word, the inflection in your voice gives it its meaning. The four tones are as such, - / \ v. The lines indicate the direction of inflection of your voice, say the right word with the wrong inflection and it comes out completely different!
In the afternoon, we have history/cultural lectures with a professor from the university. His stories of ancient Chinese history are interesting, if you can follow his very accented English. I would love to understand one of his Chinese lectures, I believe he would be excellent.
The landscaping of Xi'an Jiaotong University campus is very elaborate. There are miniature parks, tree lined streets, beautiful rose beds, and fountains. My favorite place is a small grassy area surrounded by an array of different indigenous trees with a small pond and bridge. The benches invite students for naps, practicing English, or escaping for a while. Every morning, one can find Chinese students sitting in the grass reading aloud from a book in English, for who else will they practice with? Perhaps one morning I will go sit with one and practice.
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