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| Mandarin class - Spanish, French, Canadian, Korean, Kazakstan, Swiss, Japanese, Russian, and me |
So as I did not want to starve, be lost any longer or be without a toilet, I signed up to study Mandarin at the Beijing Culture and Language University in Wudaokou a district of Beijing for 5 weeks. Classes were taught Monday to Friday, 8am - noon, so afternoons and evenings were left for siesta, practising the language with the natives or other students, eating the local cuising and visiting the city. I really enjoyed my time in Beijing, I met so many interesting people from around the world wanting to improve their Chinese skills. I was in awe of all these "laowai" (foreigners) speaking fluent Mandarin and ashamed that I myself (of Chinese origin) could not. However, my Mandarin skills improved in leaps and bounds during my time there and by the end of the course I felt I could order in restaurants and give directions to taxi drivers. Of course I didn't actually know what they were saying back to me but I will persist with learning the language and hopefully I will one day be able to understand them. The trouble with the language is that there are many ways of saying the same thing and people will tell you that you are saying it wrong when it is actually right. Ah the joys of learning Mandarin!
