One big bonfire! (and other musings)

Okay, the bonfire is on Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

If you're Catholic, go to the Church of the Gesu for the mass at 6:00 p.m.

Come 7:00 p.m., all hell breaks lose with (what else!) the actual bonfire.

I describe it as "hell" because that's my first experience of a bonfire. When the Ateneo football team won its historic three-peat years ago, Ateneo also had a bonfire. I was in charge of videotaping the thing. Because I wanted to get a nice shot, I decided to move closer. Saktong-sakto, nagliyab ang lahat ng kahoy paglapit ko. Sobrang init, parang impyerno!

Yun lang. =)

***

Because the Basic Chinese 3 class (Chinese characters) at the Confucius Institute got dissolved, the next best thing to take is Practical Spoken Chinese 4. The lessons are still in pinyin, which means I'm still conveniently classified as illiterate in Chinese. No read, no write, just speak. Urgh.

***

I've been trying to remember what I really dreamed of doing in high school. I remember wanting to travel a la Lonely Planet and to write these adventures down in a magazine article. I also wanted my own column in a newspaper a la Karen Kunawicz.

Now I'm in my late 20s, America is in an economic recession, and magazines are folding up. People blog, and some blog for a living. I write content for the university website and occasionally, when I'm free to freelance, I review resorts and restaurants for a travel magazine. I am working towards a Masters degree, learning Chinese, and thinking of where to go and what to do next. I am thinking of the next step. I am looking for a stepping stone. But I haven't left every stone unturned yet. I am praying for strength.

Class dissolved!!!

My Basic Chinese 3 class got dissolved today. I got a call from the Confucius Institute. It turns out there were only two (two!) people who enrolled: me and my friend Hidei.

Urgh! I know Basic Chinese 3 is hard because it involves writing and remembering actual Chinese characters, versus Basic Chinese 1 and 2 which taught us speaking and listening skills. But don't people want to learn how to READ and WRITE? Isn't that the whole point of learning a foreign language? Speaking, listening, conversing, reading, writing.

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! *tears her hair out*

Basic Chinese 3

Last Thursday, I enrolled for my Basic Chinese 3 class at the Confucius Institute. I'm excited to learn to read and write more Chinese characters.

While withdrawing money from the ATM inside the campus, I felt a bit sad to part with my money (well, some of my money, anyway). Withdrawing money meant dipping into the fund I saved up for my second semester of graduate studies.

But while walking to the Chinese Studies office in Leong Hall, I got excited again when I saw all those DVDs and books and magazines in pure Chinese! I want to enjoy all those media in their pure form. And before I enjoy them, I must first understand them, right?

Besides, I am privileged to get a 50% tuition discount both in my M.A. and my Chinese language class since I'm an employee, anyway. Therefore, there's absolutely nothing to feel sad about. I should even be thankful. So thanks be to God and thanks be to Ateneo!

***

The Ateneo also offers Korean language classes now. Details here. Tuition discount for employees is not as big as in my Chinese language class, though. Good thing I can learn Korean from my officemate...for free!

Last day of Basic Chinese 2 class

August 2 was the last day of Basic Chinese 2 class. The week before, we had our final exam. Guess what my score was?

(Deep intake of breath.)

I got 90/ 100. Syempre masama ang loob ko (Of course I have hurt feelings). I studied (as in REALLY studied) so I expected to get my usual score, which ranges from 98-100.

And when my teacher handed my paper to me, he seemed a bit surprised too. He said I should have taken great care to mark my tones in the proper vowels. If I did, I would have gotten a higher score. Ayun (So there).

But of course, 90 is way better than the 70-80 range most people got. Highest was 98. Next was 94. And I came in third. Not bad, I know. But still.

From 100 to 99

A quiz almost every week. That's the standard my Chinese language teacher has set to ensure that we finish the course equipped with the skills to speak conversational Mandarin. The first time, I got a perfect score, 100/100. I had all the time in the world to study since grad school had not started yet. The second time, I got a 99/100. It was the time I was (well, still am) juggling time between studying for my MA and practicing my Mandarin. I will have a test again next week, and I really hope my test score won't follow a steady downward trend.

On a brighter note, there was a scene in "My Girl" last Friday where Jasmine (played by cutie pie Kim Chiu) went back to her old job as tour guide, after being fired by Julian (played by the gorgeous Gerald Anderson--but you know that already), and guess what--she was tour guide to a bus full of Chinese tourists! I was passively watching when Jasmine/Kim opened her mouth to speak the tourists' native language, and lo and behold, I understood most of it! Isn't that amazing? I can now understand some simple Mandarin! Congratulate me.

I don't feel so confident about my bad Mandarin anymore

I think I perfected the test yesterday. It was easy enough. Only 11 items. I finished the test in about one and a half minutes. I commend myself for taking the time to memorize my new Chinese words every morning. I'm just not sure if I could keep this up once I start my MA classes. I have two this semester.

I worry about my pronunciation. My new teacher has a very good ear. He can tell when we pronounce the wrong tones in Chinese words. You should know that in Chinese, pronouncing a word in the wrong tone means saying a totally different word. Should I just keep my mouth shut? Should I start using flash cards to communicate?

I thought I was good with accents. My teacher in Basic Chinese 1 said I can already go to China. Maybe not yet. Practice, practice.

First day of Basic Chinese 2 class

Basic Chinese 2 doesn't seem basic at all. Yesterday, at the start of my class, my head ached from the deluge of new words I had to learn. I will have to start going through my notes every morning so I'd remember them. My teacher said he'll test us regularly so we'll learn fast and be able to converse in decent Mandarin in no time. But despite the challenge looming before me, I must say I like my new words. Why? Because they're all about food, a topic that's close to my heart. And tongue. And tummy. So I must learn those words pronto because my teacher said something about taking the class to a Chinese restaurant to eat actual Chinese food in the future. Squee!!! Bring it on!!!

Proof of my Mandarin/ Putonghua prowess

After three months of classes, I finally got my Basic Chinese 1 certificate from the Confucius Institute. Sweet. Now I can say hello, tell people what I want (coffee, mostly...), ask someone's nationality and profession, introduce myself, introduce people, count, ask for permission, look for someone, say goodbye, ask directions, make suggestions/invitations, to name a few. But that doesn't mean that I can now conveniently hop on a plane to China. There's still a lot I don't know...like how to read. The little Kanji I know from basic Nihongo isn't much help. Besides, this certificate is only a piece of paper. The real prowess is in making actual, meaningful conversations with people.

My teacher, when he asked each student in class to recite a passage from our textbook, said I could go to China now, though. But he didn't mean that literally. He just meant that my pronunciation was close enough to how real Chinese people say it.

So I will attend Basic Chinese 2 this coming May. I will take it along possible Saturday afternoon classes on photography (lighting) and basic photo editing, offered by a different organization, of course. These will keep me busy and productive and maybe, just maybe, closer to my full potential. Well and good.