Fork meets Chopsticks

Rocky Balboa

2006-12-18T22:34:00.000+08:00

The new Rocky movie or ...

A friend from Denmark edited this video

Pictures of Oriental Tower, Brother's Grad Ceremony, Central Park et al

2006-12-12T18:43:00.000+08:00

Shanghai Haircut

2006-12-04T21:36:00.000+08:00

OOOO000ooooh!

Cheque:

I've wanted to get footage of this for awhile, so finally I brought my camera along for the haircut. The "wash/massage/piece of heaven" takes about 3x longer than the actual haircut does(but I don't care, everybody knows getting your hair washed is the best part). The price of this adventure is only 10RMB, with my brother's discount card I get 50% off, in US dollars the total comes to: $1.28!

Life Markers

2006-11-30T19:45:00.000+08:00

Life Markers -

Markers are something people in fields of editing use to mark something they wish to revisit at a later date. For example in video editing you can put markers in different parts of the "time line" to make note of something, or to remember exactly where it is that you want to come back to.

Life markers - is a concept that started when I was very little, although I never assigned a vocabulary to it 'till now. I've also never given it much thought, but now in retrospect, I think it's fascinating that the brain would do something like this.

What is a "Life Marker" ?

It's something that is consciously used to remember a specific moment in time where you're in the present thinking ahead about the future hindsight of the present. So you're using your foresight to mark a place in history that has not yet occurred for a future review of said event using hindsight.

I have many moments in my life where I can look back and remember looking forward. When I was a kid in the 6th grade I remember my bus pulling up my gravel road after school to drop me off, as we turned the corner I remember staring out the window thinking: "Wow time takes forever to go by, I've been in school forever and I'm only half way through, I want to remember this exact moment and I want to look back on it when I'm done with school. I can't wait until I graduate."

I remember being in the Dominican Republic sitting outside under a Carribean roof made of straw,enjoying freshly made juice, watching traffic go by and writing a letter to a friend, and in my nostoglia I longed for my friends and family back home. Even though I was perfectly content with where I was and with what I was doing in the Dom. Rep. I experienced a fleeting moment of anxiety in where I wanted my year to be up so I could be reunited with loved ones. And so in the moment I thought that moment would never arrive I said - "Erik remember this moment so you can look back on it".

The most recent marker in my "life time-line" rests on the month of May - I remember sitting on the newly carpeted floor of a house I was remodeling back in Oregon, thinking - "I can't wait until I'm in China".

Just now, as I was saying a short prayer before bed, all those marked memories came flooding into my mind right after I had prayed: "Lord help me to remember that I needn't worry about tomorrow because you are here to lead me, and remind me that you have the master plan of my life and are in control of everything that is and everything that will be." He reminded me of all the times I felt like time would not pass, the moments when what I was seeking seemed so out of my reach and impossible to achieve. He reminded me that He led me through them all.

Its amazing how life is one big accumulation of events. Who would've thought back in the 6th grade, let alone 6 months ago, I would be in China? Well I'm here, and even though I've made it, I still think back to those nights I prayed for Him to work it out so I could come to China, and it boggles the mind.

When I try and connect the dots on the series of events leading up to my present situation, I am left decidedly feeling that those suceeding events are a higly improbable set of events(as in they could've never happend by random chance), which leads me to arrive at the realization that He is always taking care of me and as a result I am left feeling blessed. When I contemplate how it has all worked out, or how any of the amazing things that have happend to me have come to pass, I realize that everything on my life's timeline has been a life marker made possible by the life maker.

Learning Languages Synonymous With Investing In Self?

2006-11-28T13:37:00.000+08:00

"Ten years ago, people learned it only for culture," said Christina Yang, a Beijing native teaching Conversational Chinese at Brenau. "Now, it is a tool for their career development."

In talking to the Hall County school board, Li said the brain processes used in learning Chinese are the same as learning math. They require structure and logic. For that reason, Li adds, Chinese children often have less trouble with math than American children.

Li said he sees another benefit beyond academics of learning a language, Chinese or otherwise.

"Through language, you learn more about culture. Through culture, the more you learn about people, and hopefully that (type of education) will reduce conflicts wherever they exist."

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20061022/localnews/132520.shtml
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"Some argue that all future jobs are somehow related to international, so it's a global marketplace and our kids need to be players in that global marketplace," said Dr. Dan Lumley with Lee's Summit Schools.

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/education/10149665/detail.html
_______________________________

A student said:"It's much easier for graduates with Chinese language skills to find a job, especially at a time when China's economy is booming."

Some students in the Chinese Department have found part-time jobs related to their major. And almost everyone in the program gets snatched up by the job market, well before graduation.

Noting the Chinese fever in America and many parts of Europe, it might seem surprising the language is just catching on in neighboring Vietnam. But given the two countries' shared history and culture, the trend, once started, is very likely to stay on.

http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20061115/100755.shtml
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In the world of foreign languages, Spanish and French are now taking a back seat to Chinese, Japanese and Arabic as schools rush to meet demands set by world leaders and business executives.

Recently the College Board began offering Advanced Placement tests in Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Russian.

District administrators looked at adding Chinese last school year to mirror trends in business and growth in various industries, said John Favero, the district's director of curriculum.

Carmel Unified students may be able to start studying Chinese as early as September.

Administrators have been talking about adding an Asian language for about a year.

"We're not looking (to add) so much in the Romance languages in terms of the future," said Mary Bull, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Carmel Unified. "We're looking at what American students will need to know in terms of their future."

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/16000034.htm
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The importance of being able to transcend language barriers cannot be understated in fostering good will, not to mention good trade relations between nations. For too long, the United States has been slow to grasp this reality.

Spoiled by prosperity, and isolated by vast oceans, we've adopted a national attitude that anyone who wants to do business with us can learn our language for themselves. Even American citizens who struggle with English as a second language are often treated with contempt. Being monolingual is not seen as a disadvantage, but as a source of pride for far too many Americans.

Even here at the University, the College of Liberal Arts language requirement is often thought of as only that: a requirement that must be filled in order to graduate, instead of giving us the valuable opportunity to engage people of other cultures in their own language.

In today's global marketplace, the ability to speak another language is more important than ever before. Doors open for those who can communicate in more than just their native tongue.

In China, 200 million students are studying English, while in America only 24,000 are studying Chinese. It's about time we start putting forth some effort to remedy this, and the state's initiative is a great way to start.

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/10/05/69268
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Invest.

English Festival

2006-11-28T01:50:00.000+08:00

My Chinese host brother invited me and some friends to his old university to watch their "English Festival". Its an annual event organized by the students studying English at the university. Last year my host brother was in charge of putting it all together, now it was his turn to sit back and enjoy. Everybody from students to professors seemed to know my host brother, he's still quite famous from his days as a big fraternity president.

Towards the end of the 2nd clip my friend Christi and I both get called onto stage to participate in some random game.

Heritage Speakers

2006-11-22T20:47:00.000+08:00

Who are 'heritage speakers'?

The term 'heritage speaker' refers to a person who comes from a home where a language other than English is spoken, who speaks or understands the home language, and who is more or less bilingual in English and the home language.

Immigration has made America more linguistically diverse than it has ever been. Data from the 2000 U.S. census shows that over 26% of Californians were born outside of the U.S., and that more than one language is spoken in 40% of California households. Nationwide, one in five children enters school speaking a language other than English.

Unfortunately, these children lose most of their native language in the process of learning English. Heritage languages typically die out within three generations. American schools generally ignore or even suppress the languages immigrant children bring with them. Giving up one's native language often is seen as a natural result of assimilation.

http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/USlanguages.html

Am I a "heritage speaker"?

面条儿 Noodles!

2006-11-21T15:56:00.000+08:00

Check these out:

Two Month Anniversery

2006-11-20T15:31:00.000+08:00

How am I celebrating?

With the "Avian Flu"! No, not really, I just have the regular one. It was really bad yesterday/all lastnight, however I'm feeling better thanks to Mama Wang's "eastern medicine", she keeps telling me xiyao shi bu hao(western medicine is no good). She made me drink all kinds of nasty stuff last night, I don't know what their names are in Chinese but I think the English translation would be something like this: Chinese Exlax 5000. Did your lightbulb go off? You get the idea.

The positive thing in all of this is that I spent a lot of "bonding time" with Mama Wang. At 4 AM this morning she was with me asking questions about every picture that flashed across my laptop's screensaver, and I would explain them all. It made me think back to when I got Typhoid Fever in the Dominican Republic, and my Dominican mom stayed by my side though it all. It really shows a persons true unselfish kindess when they put you first and stick by you even when you're at your worst.

Mama Wang is mixing my next dosage, I'd better go figure out how say "your eastern medicine makes me spend too much time on your eastern toilet".

DVDWATCH!

2006-11-19T09:25:00.000+08:00

...SKSK

Pictures

2006-11-18T15:08:00.000+08:00

"Fortress America"

2006-11-17T21:15:00.000+08:00

"Rosenberg's plan, which was discussed Thursday during a federal hearing in Orlando on the future of higher education in America, includes creating a virtual language institute, increasing the number of foreign students studying in Florida, and possibly requiring university students to attend at least one study-abroad program before graduation."

"The idea of fortress America doesn't work anymore and our students need to have a better understanding of that," said Rosenberg, who is fluent in Spanish, and can read and speak some Portuguese and French.

-If the rest of the world is learning more about us than we are learning about them, then they are able to make greater inroads into our economy and we cannot do the same with theirs," Rhodd said.

Full Article

- "Fortress America" what a great label for the persons in big government who still endorse outdated concepts and ideals about foreign policy.

America behind in learning about the rest of the world? Definitely. It still amazes me that I'm the only American in my program here. About 75% of my fellow cohorts are from European countries and speak on average 3 languages.

Make studying abroad a prerequisite for graduation? Excellent idea! Imagine the perspective America would gain as a whole. Fresh graduates coming back and working in big business with a broad view and a mentality of how to help America stay globally sucessful.

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A DIFFERENT LOOK

Gabriel Muller, 15, is enrolled in Chinese II at Coral Glades. He started to say that learning the characters is like learning every word in the English dictionary but stopped.

''No, it's not. Because every word in the dictionary is made up of 26 letters. Every Chinese word looks completely different,'' he said.

George Cheng, a junior at Robert Morgan who has studied several languages, said the amount of memorization makes Chinese a little more difficult.

''But it's just like memorizing streets,'' said George, 16. ``Once you start driving, you just know where the streets are.''

Brehm now believes signing up was the right decision.

''As you write more, everything becomes a lot easier and you don't really need to use your eraser that much,'' she said.

Full Article

- My ability to write characters that I've learned are becoming less and less a distant third and more close to a second natured ability, at times it feels as natural as jotting down 'A' 'B' and 'C' on a paper.

Language Learning

2006-11-03T20:59:00.000+08:00

Have you ever blown through a test with 100% confidence? I mean really breezed though it, glided through with your pen barely leaving the test paper throughout the entire process, experienced non-stop scribbling because none of the questions present you with the *stop and scratch your head* impulse, no "hmm?" leaves your lips, your feet don't tap the ground, and your eyes don't roll around in your head - do you know what I'm talking about? I recently ACED a couple of exams. *Grin*

Since I have not formally studied anything since High school, getting back into the groove(not that there was much of a groove to begin with) of formal instruction has been interesting. Since arriving to China I've done a lot of reading on how the brain works, how humans acquire languages, why certain memory techniques work and why some don't. Through my curiosity I've come across a lot of interesting research, different studies, facts, and statistics. A lot of what I came across made perfect sense and a lot was from Mars. I've had the enlightening opportunity to incorporate bits and pieces of things that really stuck a cord with me, and implement them into my own study routine.

A lot of what I find myself constituting as 'studying Chinese' is me learning Hanzi(Chinese characters). I can memorize the pinyin to English definition fairly easy, but if I put too much focus on only those two aspects then what happens later, when I want/need to learn the hanzi for that word is, I have to put myself through another memory association process of linking the Chinese meaning(also pronunciation) to the written character . It's like learning the same thing twice, in fact that's exactly what it is.

EXAMPLE:

The Learning Process: Eat--> chi1 fan4 --> 吃饭

Erik's brain went: English --> Chinese --> Chinese

I had to learn a Chinese equivalent for "eat" TWICE!

Also I had to link an association with another association! An associated association, I imagine, is a rather weak one. Although I don't know that for sure, my thinking is this: Remember that movie "Multiplicity" ? Well you can't clone a clone, the result is a flawed product, because the purity of the link is mucked up.

Some parts of a language are simply more complex than others.

I quickly realized that my original plan of dividing then spending equal amounts of study time on learning different aspects of the language, so as to prevent myself from excelling in one area and having a lackluster performance in another, was in fact having detrimental effects on my overall pace of achievement. Memorizing vocabulary isn't as highly a challenging task as is learning to write a character. So the question posed to myself, after awhile of rigidly dividing my study time was, why am I spending the same amount of study time on the 'easy' stuff as I am on the 'hard' stuff? Answer: Studying isn't a static concept, you have to be dynamic in your studies, you have to learn how to learn, learn how to approach and tackle a language. If I learn to study, I'll study to learn. Shortly after, my whole concept of, equally distributed amounts of study time equals being able to distribute equal performances in different areas, was officially moot. Language is so immensely and intricately intertwined that too much separation and divorcement of different aspects leaves you without the proper connections to make sense of what you're reading/hearing/writing, when going from one aspect to the other. I still think a balanced knowledge of the language is important, but I now understand that a balanced study time does not equate to a well-rounded knowledge base.

Lately I've been dedicating more study time on learning characters, the reason for this being, during tests my character recall(ability to produce the written form of any given word) often comes up blank, or gray at best. If on a test questions 1 - 20 asked me to give the English translation for the Chinese pinyin words, then 1 -20 would be completed without a problem. However if questions 1 - 20 had asked me to identify given characters and produce their pinyin or English equivalent, things would get messy (also applies to me having to produce the characters for given pinyin/English words.

(NOTE: Learning a Chinese character is a difficult thing, no matter how I switch the association process around. Its just accepted as fact that learning to associate a meaning with a complex pictograph or ideograph is no simple matter. My new approach simply tries to reduce the amount of time it will take to register all 3 together as one meaning. As well as increase exposure of the 3 as one unit.)

So how did I consolidate different materials to maximize my study time and employ different creative tactics, yet stick by my "a balanced knowledge of different aspects is important in language learning" approach?

Well I took into account a few things:

My energy level at the end of the day

People learn better and retain more when standing up or walking around

Students remember 90% of what they do, 75% of what they see and 20% of what they hear.

How do I employ tactics that will take advantages of what I've learned from my Uncle Michael on how learners learn.

How do I go visual yet stay auditory and still do kinesthetic?

My attempts at rote memorization were too slow and ineffective

If you were awaiting the unveiling of a never seen before study technique, I'm sorry to disappoint, my findings are quite simple yet practical in their applicability.

Customizing my study to fit my needs: Here's how I learn vocab - on a nicely-sized 'post-it' note. First I jot down the chapter # that the word comes from in the top right corner, secondly I write down the Chinese character on the left side, then on the right I put the English translation, on the back I write the pinyin with it's tone marks. Following the "factory stage", I stick the post-its to my wall in a series of rows and columns. I spend my time pacing around the room looking at the wall(1), I repeat the words out loud(2), I look to the character first and try and get the pinyin(3), I draw the characters with my finger in the air or on a small legal pad while I say the pinyin out loud(4 and reinforcement of 2).

1. Visual learning/Prevents me from getting tired or distracted/Helps my brain retain the information better.

2. Auditory learning.

3. Top down approach/Instead of going easy to hard(learning the English to pinyin, then the pinyin to character), I'm going hard to easy(learning recognition of a character)/Easy training hard combat, hard training easy combat.

4. Kinesthetic learning.

This next part might come across as silly but I find it effective:

I try and make up games by randomly pointing, in quick succession, to different post-its and saying the characters as fast as I can. If the word allows, I try my best to act out its meaning. I select different post-its and try and make up sentences, or even role play out both sides of a dialogue using the words. I pick a row or column at random and do it over and over again until I can go through the whole thing without a single mistake or askew character stroke.

Once I feel satisfied with the assimilation of a vocab (after some days or weeks), I peel it off the wall, and put another in it's place. Why do I put the chapter number on all the post-its? To give myself an evaluation tool, how long is it taking me to learn this word, why is a vocab from chapter 10 still stuck to this wall - when we're currently on chapter 18? Maybe I should go back to chapter 10 and review some material, are there any similarities in the word/character strokes?

LESS IS MORE
Sometimes "less really is more", the less I focused on English to pinyin, and focused on characters, the more I knew about the 3.

This turned into a rather long post! All I really wanted to say was that, "I did good on a test" because I took a pro-active approach to my studies. If any of what I've written makes sense, please do opine through the comment button below(and leave your name) or through email.

-my bedroom wall -
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New "C.Test" vs. "HSK"

2006-11-01T21:42:00.000+08:00

Interesting new option for those who would seek to prove their language ability in Mandarin -

"A language test for non-native speakers of Chinese will begin next month to assess their proficiency at the workplace.

The "C.Test", short for Chinese Test, is designed by Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), a school that also created the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) or the Chinese Proficiency Test.

Sun Dejin, director of the university's HSK centre, said the HSK is similar to the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), while the C.Test is more like the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), which focuses more on the ability of using Chinese in everyday business activities. "

Full article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-10/24/content_715153.htm

Chinese Language in the News -

"Business experts are in no doubt about how important Mandarin will become over the next few years.

BBC business reporter Mary Hennock says students speaking fluent English and Chinese are going to be the executives of the future.

"China's economy is growing so quickly and becoming so influential in the world economy that people can't afford to ignore it. People who want to be ahead in whatever industry need to think about China and learning Chinese."

-http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4617646.stm

China and "The Great Firewall"

2006-10-30T22:59:00.000+08:00

An additional reason as to why I haven't been posting very much as of late: MyEducAsian.blogspot.com is blocked in China. Actually any blog being hosted by blogger.com is currently unavailable due to the "Great Firewall". I researched which blogging sites were accessible, back when I was in the states, and blogger.com checked out, I'm unsure of why things have changed. I hope this will be a temporary hiccup, and not a lasting burp, so I can get back to cooking up stories for dinner(don't worry, I don't even know what I meant by that). To circumvent the situation here, I have resorted to using proxies to get around the Great Wall. Unfortunately the only proxies I have been able to successfully use are often unreliable and too slow, not to mention my browser 'times-out' with content-rich websites. Sometimes I can write the post, using a proxy, but am unable to update the index file to reflect a new post (meaning nobody on the outside sees anything new). To summarize: Blogging has become a slow and tedious process and the blame of not updating lately, rests on both my shoulder and a top the great wall.

I've been in China for over a month now . .

Classes are going great, I'm learning a lot. I can understand a lot of words in spoken conversation, I am able to say a lot, even though I know very little - it's amazing how by switching up the order of words, you can make so many different phrases, thus conveying many different thoughts even with limited vocabulary.

The other day I read a paragraph in Chinese characters, then I had to answer some questions relating to said paragraph... THEN reality hurled a big wad of wet-napkin through a funnel shaped rod,with the words "AHHH" etched in the side, and smacked lopsidedly against my forehead - dripping with shock I realized, "Whoaaa, dude I can read Chinese". If you want to see where progress happens, feel free to swing by apartment # 1501 for a look-see *grin*.

Overdue

2006-10-28T17:09:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. I've been pretty occupied with studying for tests and general language-related activities. But in between it all, of course, I've managed to have fun. Here's some pictures of how its been:

Problems Solved

2006-10-17T22:26:00.000+08:00

Alright - the sidebar is back in place and the videos are playing again. Thanks to Mike Dobson for teaching me HTML back when I was 14 yrs old! Thanks man - there were errors and tons of mess ups for some reason in the coding, but its all smoothed out now! *wink*

Bible vs Sidekick

2006-10-17T19:55:00.000+08:00

What If We Treated Our Bibles More Like We Treat Our SKII

God's Pumpkins

2006-10-17T19:19:00.000+08:00

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.

I met the best interpreter in the whole wide world.

2006-10-16T23:25:00.000+08:00

ASL VLOG

My preemptive strike on the HSK

2006-10-16T19:21:00.000+08:00

New goal added to my list of goals: Learn 3,000 characters (no easy task)

When people are hungry they eat. Drawing simply from that statement one could arrive at the natural conclusion that one eats because one doesn't wish to feel hunger anymore. I am hungry in the sense that I want to learn 3,000 characters during my stay here because I don't want to be illiterate in Chinese.

How do I go about quelling such a feeling? Well, much like a person with hunger wouldn't stuff an entire hamburger in their mouth, I can't cram 3,000 characters into my brain en bloc. I can't even cram 1,500, half of the burger, into my brain all at once. I need to take smaller bites, I need to input smaller bytes, I must chew.

The reason I'm aiming for around 3,000 characters is because I plan on sitting for the HSK in about 8 months time, and the entire exam is written in characters, no pinyin or English (NOTE: I've done some research on the exam and material one would have to know in order to place at a level in which I'd be be satisfied with, and at the pace I'm going and with the variety in how/what I focus my study time on, I'm not sure where I'd be nor how ready I'd be for what the test focuses on. For this very reason I've decided to be proactive and attack early-on with a plan, something with a bold and solid number). So I've done the math: 3,000 characters in 8 months would necessitate me learning about 13 - 14 new characters daily, to be up around 3,000 by exam time. Trust me this is still no easy feat, however in comparison, it is markedly easier than letting the mind run amuck contemplating such a seemingly impossible task of knowing, let alone learning, 3,000 characters.

Will I really be able to learn 13-14 characters a day, consecutively, for 8 months?
"Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss you'll land amongst the stars."

A question that I got hung up on for a couple of seconds, until a concept my Uncle Michael introduced me to over the summer, sprung to mind. Although I can't remember the specific vocabulary he used while explaining it to me, and as a result am unable to explain it as eloquently and articulately as he could, I do have a firm grasp on the concept he taught me.

In order to not get discouraged about progress, especially if things aren't going exactly at the rate you had planned, it is most important to give recognition to the things you have accomplished. For example, say I have an extensive list of things I hope to get done, and throughout the day I am bombarded with little interruptions and when its all said and done I can still cross quite a few items off the list, but not every single one. Should I be discouraged because I didn't reach my goal? No. The unforeseen things that sprung up throughout the day that had to be taken care of, took away from the things I had planned to do, yes, but also added to the list many accomplished tasks. Seeing as how I chose to take care of the things that were unexpected shows that these pressing matters were equal if not of more importance, it stands to be reasoned that in actuality, I accomplished quite a lot, if not more than what was expected. So at the end of the day there is cause to applaud, a right to feel good about all I've done, and not to despair over what I didn't accomplish. I should make another list of all the unexpected things that I had accomplished during the course of that day and cross them off. Work is work, affirm what you've done, don't negate your efforts; instead of thinking negatively, think positively.

Although I'm not going to write down every little thing I do here in China, having familiarity of this concept is quite beneficial to the mind. It brings to light the fact that even if I don't master 13 -14 characters daily, in my quest to reach my goal, I am learning and doing many other things that indirectly will help me reach my ultimate goal of doing well on the HSK. I need to be independent of the fact that I'm picking up many unaccounted characters every day, a new radical I just learned will be shared with quite a few other characters down the road, I'm learning things every time I walk down the street and analyze different signs. What about that time I went out with my Chinese friend's and asked about a few characters here and there, or all the characters I learned watching subtitled movies, etc, you get the idea. So here's the nitty gritty - it's very useful to be mindful of the unplanned accomplishments you make everyday. So congratulate yourself, keep hope, with the right attitude you really will achieve your planned goal(s). Our thoughts and motivation levels are static in nature, and easy to manipulate, why not live smarter and stay positive in all we do.

Special thanks to Uncle Michael, for always being a passionate teacher.

Chinese Immersion Learning is MSGs for the Brain

2006-10-11T19:24:00.000+08:00

Learning Mandarin Chinese brings a great quote to mind that I read in a book not too long ago(can't remember which book it was in), more or less it goes like this: "The bigger the island of knowledge is, the longer the coastline of learning will be". Meaning the more you learn, the more you have to learn, the more you will want to learn. That is to say that, learning is a life-long journey, the acquisition of knowledge requires more knowledge to achieve an understanding of what you've learned.

For me this is a perfect correlation of how my studies here in China are coming along. The more I study Mandarin, the more I have to learn about Mandarin, the more I want to learn about Mandarin. The language is fascinating, intricate, complicated, and beautiful all at the same time. Learning Mandarin is quite the undertaking, I strongly feel I would be unsuccessful at grasping even basic aspects let alone profound details, had I decided to enroll in a class and study at a university without any travel abroad. I firmly believe that the advantages of getting vocabulary in context, and seeing culture in context is the gem of immersion learning. *Signs: 'H' vertically then horizontally* - woe to anybody wanting to learn Mandarin without plans of coming abroad to get exposure to the language.

I'm now in my 3rd week of learning, my brain has absorbed a lot, probably even more than I'm consciously aware of, yet I still feel that my language assimilation is going slow. Chinese really is a challenge, even Chinese people admit its a complicated language. But I'm without worry, I'm looking forward to my moment. I'm anxiously awaiting that sweet feeling of what I like to call "level breakthrough". Language acquisition for me, is made up of a lot of little unconscious victories accumulating to register in your consciousness, signaling an advancement of a level in your language abilities. The genius of acquiring a language in an immersed environment is that your brain is working even when you're not telling it to. Can you study Chinese in the states 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? No, you cannot. However when immersed the brain is a massive sponge soaking in mineral enriched Chinese H2O. By default, even if you never pick up a book or actively think about it, your brain is learning Chinese. It's like your brain being injected with MSGs, and deciding with or without your conscious choice, that it is going to continue gobbling up information. If I had to make up a percentage based on purely feelings, I'd pick a rather high percentage number, and say that x % of what you end up knowing(in an immersed environment) was learned in the background of your brain and not the foreground.

How do I explain arriving at such a conclusion?

My reason being is that there is a moment when it all "clicks" - the "level breakthroughs" of language learning. Through countless hours of your brain harmonizing and coding the different cantonations in the music of the language, developing links with vocabulary you've seen, analyzing sentence structure and word usage, and implementing body language and hand gestures - there comes a moment when it all clicks and you're floored. The realization hits you all at once, the unconscious language victories have all clicked together and materialized in the foreground of your brain, congratulations my friend, you've experienced a "level breakthrough". You smile and realize that your language acquisition really is progressing, you my friend, are progressing.

Although challenged, I am motivated, although overwhelmed at times, I am undeterred; I feel persistence(or perhaps MSGs, I could be mistaken) coursing through my vessels.

Investing in myself by moving to China has proven to be undoubtedly a positive venture:

"..statistics that show China's surging importance in the world's economy, security and culture:

China's economic production tripled the world average from 1978-2002, and from 2001-04 accounted for one-third of global economic growth.
U.S. trade with China exceeded $280 billion last year, ranking second to Canada.
95 to 97 percent of all Fortune 500 companies have unfilled openings for MBAs who can speak Chinese.
Chinese is the most widely spoken first language in the world, and by 2007 will surpass English as the Internet's most popular language.
The U.S. State Department designated Chinese as a critical language for the political and economic security of our country."

"Hayes tells his students there's never been a time in U.S. history when knowledge of foreign cultures has been more important, both in terms of economy and security. And for those studying the language with professional goals in mind, he points out that students "can mix Chinese with just about any discipline."

- http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-32/1160491637159420.xml&coll=6

"...students can mix Chinese with just about any discipline" - That's a tune I've been singing for a long time. I cannot stress enough the beauty of learning a language, the versatile nature of having language ability and the applicability of it towards any field of your choosing.

i l o v e i t

Deaf Adventists in Shanghai

2006-10-11T19:21:00.000+08:00

Video from last Saturday (10/7/06)

Back from Hangzhou

2006-10-07T23:17:00.000+08:00

Everyone in China gets a week long hiatus from work/school, for a celebration of bringing family together and resting. The Moon Festival is celebrated with family and mooncakes under the full moon.

So my 2nd week here was not spent in classes, it wasn't spent on language study, it was spent on culture study, traveling that is. Since all of us students are not Chinese, and don't happen to have any family living in the Big Red, we didn't really have anyone to visit for the holidays. So what were we going to do for a whole week?

Then there were twelve, twelve students up for an adventure, up for some traveling and exploring. Here's a glimpse of the fun we had:

Hangzhou Footage:

Hangzhou Update Part 1(ASL)

Hangzhou Update Part 2(ASL)

You can find more factual information about Hangzhou here: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/hangzhou.htm

The Family

2006-10-02T20:19:00.000+08:00

In respective order from left to right: Chen Bo(Me), Mama Wong, Chen Zhou, Papa Chen.

Papa Chen and Mama Wong sure know how to play some ping pong!

Traveling around China for a couple of days with some other students, I'll let you know how it went when I get back!

VLOG Updates (ASL)

2006-10-01T23:20:00.000+08:00

Everytime I VP with someone questions relating to how my language learning is coming along seem to arise, so it seemed like a worthy vlog to post on here, enjoy:

Part 2: SDA Church and Deaf Chinese VLOG:

'How long will it take me to become proficient in ...?'

2006-09-30T19:02:00.000+08:00

Language Learning Difficulty for English Speakers

People often ask: "How long will it take me to become proficient in ...?" This question is almost impossible to answer because a lot depends on the person's language learning ability, motivation, learning environment, intensity of instruction, and prior experience in learning foreign languages.

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Department of State has compiled approximate learning expectations for languages based on the length of time it takes to achieve Professional Speaking (S3) and Reading Proficiency (R-3) in them. This is roughly equivalent to ACTFL Superior .

Keep in mind that students at FSI are almost 40 years old, are native speakers of English. and have a good aptitude for formal language study, plus knowledge of several other foreign languages. They study in small classes of no more than 6. Their schedule calls for 25 hours of class per week with 3-4 hours per day of directed self-study.

Categories Number of full-time weeks to achieve Professional Speaking and Reading ability

Category I
Languages closely related to English
23-24 weeks
(575-600 class hours)

Afrikaans
Danish
Dutch
French
Italian
Norwegian
Portuguese
Romanian
Spanish
Swedish

Category II
Languages with significant linguistic
and/or cultural differences from English
44 weeks
(1100 class hours)

Albanian
Amharic
Armenian
Azerbaijani
Bengali
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Burmese
Croatian
Czech
*Estonian
*Finnish
*Georgian
Greek
Hebrew
Hindi
*Hungarian
Icelandic
Khmer
Lao
Latvian
Lithuanian
Macedonian
*Mongolian
Nepali
Pashto
Persian (Dari, Farsi, Tajik)
Polish
Russian
Serbian
Sinhala
Slovak
Slovenian
Tagalog
*Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Urdu
Uzbek
*Vietnamese
Xhosa
Zulu

Category III
Languages which are exceptionally difficult for native English speakers 88 weeks
(second year 0f study in-country)
(2200 class hours)

Arabic
Cantonese
Mandarin Chinese
*Japanese
Korean

Other languages
German
30 weeks
(750 class hours)
Indonesian, Malaysian, Swahili
36 weeks
(900 class hours)

* Languages preceded by asterisks are typically somewhat more difficult for native English speakers to learn to speak and read than other languages in the same category.

You can now compare these figures to the average number of class hours per year in a college language course. A typical college year is 9 months or 36 weeks. A typical language course is 3-5 hours a week, or 108-180 hours per year plus preparation outside of class. It's no wonder that students who start a foreign language from scratch in college, rarely achieve high levels of proficiency. Unless they have done significant language work in high school, they will need to supplement their program with intensive summer schools and study abroad in order to achieve a high level of speaking proficiency.

-http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/learningExpectations.html

How many Americans can speak a second language fluently?

Only 9% of Americans can speak their native language plus another language fluently, as opposed to 53% of Europeans.
Any comments on this?

Chinese Language

2006-09-29T16:40:00.000+08:00

"When sophomore Scott Wilson thinks of his future as an international business lawyer, he sees it stamped "Made in China."

After all, about 1.3 billion people speak Chinese and the country's economy has been one of the fastest growing in the world in the last six years."

"He joins an estimated 30,000 other American teens studying Chinese - up six-fold from the estimated 5,000 who studied the language in 2000, according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages."

"Also, she said, the Chinese language "enhances learning of math and science."

Research supports the idea that studying Chinese and Japanese develops different parts of the brain, Sandoval said.

"Students must get their hands around something totally foreign," Sandoval said, referring to the Chinese and Japanese characters that are so different from the English alphabet.

"For some reason," she said, "having to utilize a new, different language forces you to use different parts of your brain."

- http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/sep/28/chinese-language-classes-popular-aps/

I like.

VLOG (Espanol)

2006-09-28T20:00:00.000+08:00

Por fin.. videos para mi gente dominicano!!

Gente vieja bailando en el parque. Que chevere, eh!?

Jaja gozando con amigos.

EF Building

2006-09-28T06:57:00.000+08:00

Wandering around the EF building:

Oral Class:

ASL Update 2/ VLOG - "Frogger"

2006-09-25T21:01:00.000+08:00

Quick update about first day of classes. I'd type it all out, but I'd rather not haha.. I have a lot to study.

"Frogger"

Nothing gets those neurons firing in the morning better than a quick game of "Shanghai-Frogger".

Languages

2006-09-24T17:00:00.000+08:00

More support in the news that Mandarin-Chinese is the language to learn, check it out:

"Both, Bhidey and Beena Menon who heads SIFL, told TOI that students knowing Mandarin were getting a preference in the job market. "Business with China is booming and many management students, businessmen and corporate representatives are now learning Chinese," Menon said."

"Almost every institute teaching Chinese has its own success stories in the form of students and businessmen having benefited enormously after having learnt the language."
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2021333.cms

"Zamora already speaks German and English, but she struggles to learn written Chinese characters and mimic tones unknown in Spanish. She persists for a simple reason: China is voraciously scouring Latin America for everything from oil to lumber, and there is money to be made. That prospect has not only Zamora but business people in much of Latin America flocking to learn the Chinese language, increasingly heard in boardrooms and on executive junkets."

"It's fundamental to communicate in their language when you go there or they come here," said Zamora, 40, a sales executive for the German drugmaker Bayer, which is growing dramatically in China. "If you don't know their language, you're lost."

"The world is divided into east and west, and the culture is completely different," said Miguel Angel Poveda, president of the Colombo-China Chamber of Commerce in Bogota. "The only way to get around it is to understand the culture and learn to do business with them, but in their language."

"Many of those taking up the challenge are young, like Leidy Catalina Ortega, 17, who recently dropped an English-language class in favor of Mandarin. Her parents want to import clothing from China to sell in Bogota. If she learns the language, she will help manage the business."
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14945958/

"In recent years, schools nationwide have increased foreign-language offerings, partly in response to a call from government and business leaders who are looking for more bilingual workers.

D.C. school officials signed an agreement this week with education officials in China to hire several teachers to instruct students in Chinese language and culture. And in Columbia, Md., a second high school is seeking to offer students a course in Chinese next year."
N.Va. school system gets language grant (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

That's why I'm here, that's why I learn languages. Do I want to go to college and get a degree? Yes. Do I have aspirations for a future career? You'd better believe it, I've got a smorgasbord of ideas. Do I know which one of my ideas is a sure thing? No. But right now I'm planning, I'm ...(as George W. Bush would put it) "strategerizing". And as you can tell from the articles, being able to represent yourself as a multifaceted individual, is a key quality in this ever flattening world. Globalization.

Piedra or Pillow?

2006-09-23T10:25:00.000+08:00

"I slept like a rock" - a phrase widely used in America. "I slept on a rock" - a phrase I'm beginning to believe may be just as popular here in China. For the past few nights I've been having dreams of Chevy trucks and Bob Seger staring down at me singing "Liiike a rock, Oooh like a rock!". Yes, my pillow is a sack of pebbles. It's filled with beads, and if you're thinking "oh nice, it conforms to the shape of your head", you'd be mistaken. The pebble-sack is so jam-packed with beads that there's no space for the material to disperse and contort to any shape.

I think I remember seeing something about my cobblestone pouch on like a 6th grade test: "The matter of your Chinese pillow exists in one of four different states or phases: (A)solid, (B)liquid, (C)gas or (D)plasma". I now know beyond a doubt that the correct answer is 'A'.

In an attempt to rectify my sleeping situation, I conferred with a new friend about my predicament, this is the advice I got in return:

Friend: "Hard pillow good for health."
Me: "Thanks."

Hmm, 'good for my health' - as in if there is a nuclear attack I can hide under my pillow and survive? Good for my health in that if a night prowler wakes me in my sleep and challenges me to a pillow fight I'd win? A pillow that offers me a sense of safety? I'm not looking for a security blanket. I'm looking for the kind of "healthy" that will allow me to wake up 2 months from now and still feel my legs. I want to wake up without bruises on my neck.

There is one positive thing in all of this, I haven't wasted any time "falling asleep" at night. It seems that from the moment my head touches the pillow.. I'm out stone cold.

If you have yet to ascertain from this post, FYI yes I am going shopping for a new pillow ASAP.

- Rocking and Rolling... stiffly out of bed in Shanghai.

Video Update (in ASL)

2006-09-22T08:39:00.000+08:00

Meeting my classmates

2006-09-22T07:57:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a blast! There are about 25 new students from around the world enrolled in the same year-long course. The majority of us can speak more than 1 or 2 languages, and everyone speaks a little english. The age group is varied, but the majority range between 19 - 23 years old. There are a handful of students who have studied Mandarin Chinese in the past and have some backround knowledge of the language, they'll be in a higher level starting right off the bat. Most of us have no history, no language *grin* just lots of work waiting for us.

First post from the other side of the world.

2006-09-20T20:52:00.000+08:00

I'm finally in Shanghai! I really thought I'd never arrive, sitting on that plane for what felt like 2 days. After arriving from the Dulles airport to the one in Detroit, I hopped on a huge 747 and took off to Tokyo. Guess what happened? About 4 hours into the trip our plane was leaking hydraulic fluids and we had to turn around and go back to Detriot (they claimed that was the only place they could do the repairs at). Arrived in Detriot at around 12 -1 AM. So basically I flew a total of 8 hours for nothing more than a complimentary stay at a Best Western hotel.

Anyways - today I settled in my room, chatted with the family - who happen to be awesome, and visited the school. So it's official, I am the only student from the U S of A *GRIN* - that's just fine with me. I haven't actually met any of the other students, that happens tomorrow at 1 in the afternoon.

My first impression of Shanghai:

"WOW, America is sooo behind!" - The technology here is everywhere from the bus ride I took with 4 flat screen tv's spread out, the cell phone's I've seen being used, the massiveness of everything from the bridges to the buildings. I love it. There's quite a bit of construction going on around here, right outside of my window they're building what looks like to be a huge apartment complex, the workers don't sleep (as in there is always someone pounding something - because I HEAR IT ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT!!)

Chipotle before China

2006-09-12T06:43:00.000+08:00

Friends offering me advice and good luck before my year long adventure.

Practice Post

2006-09-02T02:38:00.000+08:00

Hello all, this is a blog I've created for the purpose of making sure all my friends and family are kept informed of my adventures in China. I hope to be able to post news, pictures, and videos about my experiences here in China.