Another semester, another Chinese class. This semester at IUPUI I’m taking EALC-C 301, Third Year Chinese 1. Classes started last week and I can already tell the class is going to be interesting. This is the first Chinese class I’ve had where I feel like I’m in the bottom-half of the class. Granted, it’s a small class, with only seven students, but some of the students have set a high bar. Two students are Chinese, so I’m not sure why they’re taking the class. Maybe they hope to test out of it. Another student taught English in China for a year. I’m under the impression he hasn’t been there for awhile, but he definitely has more practice.
Still, I’m resolved that the high bar isn’t insurmountable. I just have to work harder.
A Chinese coworker, who’s always good for telling me different chengyu (成语), told me about a saying of Mao that appears in classrooms over there:
好好学习，天天向上。
Hǎohāo xuéxí, tiāntiān xiàngshàng.
Study well, make progress everyday.
I take it to mean I should study everyday, including weekends, to make progress. To help me in my Chinese studies, I’ve also bought a year-long Chinese course from Transparent language. I’ll let you know how it goes.