Sorry I disappeared for a couple of days. I got kind of homesick and dropped all lines of communication - which is kind of the opposite of what one should do, but I'm working on it.
So... despite what my postings may thus far suggest, Shanghai isn't all shopping trips and cozy parties. I'm here on a CCSEP, or Canada-China Scholars' Exchange Programme, scholarship, and as such spend my mornings studying Mandarin at Donghua University. This has to be one of the sweetest deals offered by the Canadian government - though it's in tandem with the Chinese gov't, so I shouldn't give Ottawa all the credit. They have covered my airfare, tuition, books, and a decent monthly stipend, and would also be giving me accommodation if I didn't mind living on campus with some cockroaches. Yes, the application process was lengthy, but it didn't require anything other than a couple of reference letters and a willingness to jump some hoops.
All language students are required to take three classes: Listening, Speaking, and Intensive Reading. I'm not really sure why they divide up the classes like this, as we listen, speak, and read in all of them - though I love imagining putting on earmuffs and blindfolds at the beginning of Speaking classes. Listening is the only class I really dread - we listen to recorded sentences and then try to work out which of the answers in our textbook makes sense. The hard part is that many of the characters in the answers are new, and that those of us in the class who weren't brought up speaking/reading an Asian language have a hard time keeping up. I'm often only halfway through understanding what the answers even mean before the tape rolls, someone chirps "B!" and we've moved on to the next question. This is bad for confidence and also for friendly relationships with "B!"-chirpers. :)
Classes run from 8:30 to 12:10 every day. We have two subjects per day, and two 45-minute periods of each in a row. Sometimes the time really crawls, but finishing school at noon every day always feels fabulous. My class is a nice group of people; most of the students are Korean, with the rest of us from Turkey, Japan, Poland, and Germany - and me, from Canada (there are only two Canadians at Donghua, me and a boy I've met a couple of times). Once a month or so the International Students' Assocation organizes Chinese Corner, an hour and a half of language practice with local students. This past Tuesday's theme was Street Chinese, which, disappointingly, was about traffic safety and not Asian ebonics.
Donghua's campus is quite lovely, with lots of trees. The Teaching & Research Building, where we have classes, is one of the nicest buildings - old red brick instead of a greyish tiled exterior. On the first week of school, a giant inflatable archway welcomed new Donghua students (literally: Welcome You, New Donghua University People!), and at Autumn Festival, the courtyard was lit up with Christmas lights and lime and violet floodlights. I can't believe I didn't take a picture!
Lots of love. And if you know anyone who might be interested in CCSEP, let me know - this is really a fantastic opportunity to study in China without worrying how you'll finance a year away.
Photos:
1. School gates, first week of school
2. Our classroom
3. Our class bulletin board, which won First Prize in the Interclass Bulletin Board Decorating Competition (see certificate at upper left)
4. The Teaching & Research Building
5. Chinese Corner
5 comments:
Now I have a better idea of what you do every day and what your classes are like; you are going to be so fluent in Mandarin when this is over!Does it get cold there? Here it is rainy and dark today but not cold.I'm heading to
Edmonton on
Tuesday and will show Kathy how to get to your blog and how to post a comment
I'm so glad you have a blog. Now I can feel like I have some sort of communication with you. Except that it's kind of one-sided. It's funny, because I can almost hear your voice as I'm reading your blog. I'm happy to see you're doing well in China and that you're enjoying yourself. Is it as stressful as your time at U of A? Speaking of which, I am intensely interested in the scholarship program that you are involved in. How about we play some email tag and you tell me all about?
Take care! Talk soon!
Btw, the above message is from Angela Ta ;P
Hi Grandma and Angela! It feel super-cold here even though it's ten degrees outside - it's the humidity. All the Shanghainese people stare at me because I'm wearing a toque and mittens. What they can't see is the Icebreaker wool undershirt, the sock liners, and long underoos. We'l see what it's like in January...
Angela: the programme is not nearly as stressful as at the U of A, because I'm no longer in a class that's so far beyond my own level. I would LOVE to tell you all about CCSEP - I'll email you the dets!
I look forward to your email. I'm often amazed at how quickly a year can pass, so I know that your time there may pass quickly, but your experiences will be bountiful. I am looking into programs across the ocean, or at least across the pond. If you want to contact me by phone, I can give you the number by email. Lemme know!
P.S. Reading you blog makes me miss China and all it's nonsense.
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