Finally Cooling Down
As the weather finally starts to cool down in Taipei, the intensity level of my Chinese classes are starting to pick up. I’m currently taking 3 Chinese classes which are each one hour long, Monday through Friday. We have either a quiz or a test in all 3 classes almost everyday! I’ve never been good at memorizing Chinese characters so it’s not at all strange that I find memorizing over 50 phrases every night almost impossible. But I’m doing my best because this is my one opportunity in life to really focus on improving my Chinese and I’m going to take advantage of it.
I don’t know exactly why this is, but I’ve been sleeping at 5AM almost every night (or morning, I should say) for the past few weeks. The strange thing is, I don’t even get tired or sleepy. There are 7-11’s pretty much on every other block here in Taipei so my friends and I always make late night 7-11 runs at 2 or 3 in the morning. I know my friends back at home will not think this is possible, but I eat so much more here than I do at home (and trust me, I eat a lot at home). I’m living in the dorms so there is a lot of socializing, but I’m also spending a lot of time studying and memorizing characters which is probably why I sleep so late. My friend Jon is also teaching me how to play guitar and my goal is to be able to play a Jay Chou song by the end of the semester. Today was my first day of tennis and it’s my only class that I take with actual NTU students and not international students. It’s fun learning how to play tennis with a teacher that only speaks in Chinese, even though I have no idea what he’s talking about sometimes, I can just watch his actions and assume what he’s saying. I love tennis so I’m having a blast in that class.
I also joined a club (I have no idea what it’s called because it’s in Chinese) which involves NTU students volunteering at an orphanage to help mentor children. We basically get paired off with a child and spend the semester helping them with homework or just being someone they can confide in. However, I was worried that I might not be able to help them with homework since my Chinese isn’t great. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m learning Chinese from the exact same textbooks as the kids use. But they said it would be really helpful if I could help tutor the children in English which I thought was a great idea! I am actually really excited about this club because it makes me feel like I can use the skills I have to give back to the community here.
Good news! I finally bought a second hand bike which cost me about $30 American. The NTU campus is flat and very large much like UC Davis so having a bike saves a lot of time and makes getting around campus so much easier. Yay for no more walking!
Well, I have quizzes to study for and an early Calligraphy class tomorrow so I have to get to work but I’ll update again soon! Take care!
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