Wednesday, June 4 began our official second day of classes. This day was an eventful day. In addition, to our two language classes we had a cultural class in the afternoon. In the 8 AM language class, we worked on pronunciation and verbally forming sentences using the vocabulary words in lesson 1. The second class at 10 AM continued to focus on lesson 1. However, the format was a little different. We were broken into groups of two and played Merchant and Patron, where partners took turns buying and selling items mentioned in lesson 1. At noon our language classes end for lunch.
Adam and Ben ate hamburgers at a restaurant near the University. Sam had dumplings in the schoolʼs cafeteria. Michelle, Tiffany, Mitch and I had lunch at the Subway sandwich shop near Fu Jen. Sam met up with us at subway, and then the 5 of us walked back to campus to the classroom where the culture class was held.
This was the second day of Calligraphy class. So, we all new what to do to set up: take out our ink, ink dish, the bamboo brush protector, the felt, paper, paper weight, and brush. Then wet the brush and pour ink into the dish. Once everything was set-up the calligraphy teacher showed us another style of calligraphy different from what we learned the previous day. This style is more fluid than the style we learned on Tuesday. We practiced the saying the teacher gave us and then came up with sayings of our own. The class ended with us watching an artist draw pictures of the Taipei 101, a lotus flower, and other Taiwanese things. The class then disbanded at about a quarter to 4 PM and we headed home for the day. ---- By Hannah
Thursday, June 12, 2008
From Mitch (MSU student) - June 5
Today was the third day of real classes and the sixth day we have been here.
Classes are going really well and the teachers are fantastic. In the morning we practice pronunciation which I really like because I am not that good at and it gives me ample opportunity to improve my speaking. It was a little overwhelming this morning because I was asked to pronounce a word that I was continuously unable to say correctly. However after a few deep breaths I was alright and ready to continue. I know that as long as I continue trying I am bound to become much better. After our first class we went to our next class which is a little more relaxing for me because we focus mainly on grammar. I like it a little better because the teacher is really outgoing and makes the class funny, but provides a great learning environment as well. He said that today was the last day he is going to speak English. For some reason I am not really that worried about it and actually look forward to it because I know that it will help our comprehension immensely.
I am finally getting over the jet lag and think everyone else is as well. I still get kind of tired around lunch time but I can notice it being later and later everyday that I get tired. I hope that this is a sign that I will soon be completely over it. As long as we have things to do it seems I can keep my mind off being tired, which really helps. After class today we got our student identification cards which I think will be a really cool souvenir.
Once that process was completed we met Mrs. Piletz in the student lounge to discuss how we were holding up and she told us who our host families would be. At first I was against the idea of doing the host family thing because my family was a host family for a girl from Germany for a year, and I didn’t think I would be able to put up with some of the stuff she had too. However, after long consideration, I realized that not only was this a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I am strong enough to put up with it especially if it will help improve my Chinese like I know that it will.
Mrs. Piletz informed me that the family I will be staying with has a son two years younger than me that studies Spanish. I do not consider myself fluent by any means, but I know enough Spanish to carry on conversations. I think this will give us more of a bond, and at least a way to communicate if the family’s English and my Mandarin are not proficient enough. Plus I always enjoy the opportunity to work on my Spanish since I do not get a chance to do so any more.
Tonight we ate at a Chinese restaurant that I really enjoyed. I have a week stomach that can not yet handle a lot of the food here so I was happy to eat something besides corporate American restaurants. I hope that I will be able to find more places like this or at least know which foods I can easily eat so that I can fully immerse myself in the culture and venture away from my American ways.
The first arrival excitement is starting to wear off and I am starting to feel real comfortable here. However some things are starting to bother me. One such thing is the way that everyone here, besides at the university, stares very hard at us. At first I thought it was really cool but now it is starting to become a nuisance. I know that I will get over it because there is nothing I can do about it. It just seems that this is the first time I have been a minority and it’s a different feeling. It gives me a new respect for the exchange students that come to Mississippi State by themselves.
Classes are going really well and the teachers are fantastic. In the morning we practice pronunciation which I really like because I am not that good at and it gives me ample opportunity to improve my speaking. It was a little overwhelming this morning because I was asked to pronounce a word that I was continuously unable to say correctly. However after a few deep breaths I was alright and ready to continue. I know that as long as I continue trying I am bound to become much better. After our first class we went to our next class which is a little more relaxing for me because we focus mainly on grammar. I like it a little better because the teacher is really outgoing and makes the class funny, but provides a great learning environment as well. He said that today was the last day he is going to speak English. For some reason I am not really that worried about it and actually look forward to it because I know that it will help our comprehension immensely.
I am finally getting over the jet lag and think everyone else is as well. I still get kind of tired around lunch time but I can notice it being later and later everyday that I get tired. I hope that this is a sign that I will soon be completely over it. As long as we have things to do it seems I can keep my mind off being tired, which really helps. After class today we got our student identification cards which I think will be a really cool souvenir.
Once that process was completed we met Mrs. Piletz in the student lounge to discuss how we were holding up and she told us who our host families would be. At first I was against the idea of doing the host family thing because my family was a host family for a girl from Germany for a year, and I didn’t think I would be able to put up with some of the stuff she had too. However, after long consideration, I realized that not only was this a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I am strong enough to put up with it especially if it will help improve my Chinese like I know that it will.
Mrs. Piletz informed me that the family I will be staying with has a son two years younger than me that studies Spanish. I do not consider myself fluent by any means, but I know enough Spanish to carry on conversations. I think this will give us more of a bond, and at least a way to communicate if the family’s English and my Mandarin are not proficient enough. Plus I always enjoy the opportunity to work on my Spanish since I do not get a chance to do so any more.
Tonight we ate at a Chinese restaurant that I really enjoyed. I have a week stomach that can not yet handle a lot of the food here so I was happy to eat something besides corporate American restaurants. I hope that I will be able to find more places like this or at least know which foods I can easily eat so that I can fully immerse myself in the culture and venture away from my American ways.
The first arrival excitement is starting to wear off and I am starting to feel real comfortable here. However some things are starting to bother me. One such thing is the way that everyone here, besides at the university, stares very hard at us. At first I thought it was really cool but now it is starting to become a nuisance. I know that I will get over it because there is nothing I can do about it. It just seems that this is the first time I have been a minority and it’s a different feeling. It gives me a new respect for the exchange students that come to Mississippi State by themselves.
From Michelle (MSU student) - June 3
Tuesday was our first “real” day of class. We were all anxious to find out who are teachers were going to be, and what their class was really going to be like. We were all on time. We are all in the same class except Adam and Ben.
Our first class is at 8:10 a.m., and it lasts until 10 a.m. We had one break. Our teacher is really nice. She worked on our pronunciation a lot. She was very patient and understanding. She asked us what we wanted to learn and we told her we wanted to know the basics, how to get around, learn traditional characters, and most importantly work on our pronunciation. So far she is a great teacher. I really enjoy being in her class.
After class we go to another one from 10:10 until noon. This teacher is called Pharaoh. He is really cool. He was so funny, but at the same time you could tell we would learn a lot in his class. He also asked us our expectations and explained how class would work. He said we would have at least two tests a week. We worked on conversation skills, which was very helpful. He made learning so much fun. We also had a break in that class too. After class we couldn’t stop talking about how great our teachers are. I’m very excited to see how much we can learn. Around noon we went and ate lunch at subway. It was really different from the American Subway, but it was ok. Afterwards we had our first afternoon class. It was calligraphy. We walked across campus to another building and met our teachers. At first we had no idea what was going on. They were so nice to us and helped us get all of our equipment together. Before we started to paint, we went up and observed our teacher draw four characters. It was pretty impressive how this man made the characters so beautiful. After a few demonstrations, we went back to our desks and started to paint. At first it was difficult. We had to use half of our chair and keep our back straight and keep the paintbrush straight up and down. A few minutes later, our teacher came around to each student and held our brush and helped us stroke the characters in the correct order. We were in class for about two hours, but the time passed by really fast. We decided to get really creative with the four characters and embrace different styles of writing. After class we cleaned up all of our materials and headed for our apartment. We were still getting use to riding the bus and trying to figure out which bus led us back to our apartment. We got in line and waited for the bus to come. After about a ten-minute ride, we got off walked less than a block, and got home and relaxed. It went over all of the grammar and characters we had learned that day. Everything we learned was pretty much a review, but it helped tremendously. Now we can go to restaurants and not have that much of a problem ordering food. We did not have much homework, but we were able to practice by conversing with each other. It was great having roommates that understood, and helped you practice your Chinese speaking skills. Overall we had a great day. We were really excited about Wednesday’s classes and calligraphy again!
Our first class is at 8:10 a.m., and it lasts until 10 a.m. We had one break. Our teacher is really nice. She worked on our pronunciation a lot. She was very patient and understanding. She asked us what we wanted to learn and we told her we wanted to know the basics, how to get around, learn traditional characters, and most importantly work on our pronunciation. So far she is a great teacher. I really enjoy being in her class.
After class we go to another one from 10:10 until noon. This teacher is called Pharaoh. He is really cool. He was so funny, but at the same time you could tell we would learn a lot in his class. He also asked us our expectations and explained how class would work. He said we would have at least two tests a week. We worked on conversation skills, which was very helpful. He made learning so much fun. We also had a break in that class too. After class we couldn’t stop talking about how great our teachers are. I’m very excited to see how much we can learn. Around noon we went and ate lunch at subway. It was really different from the American Subway, but it was ok. Afterwards we had our first afternoon class. It was calligraphy. We walked across campus to another building and met our teachers. At first we had no idea what was going on. They were so nice to us and helped us get all of our equipment together. Before we started to paint, we went up and observed our teacher draw four characters. It was pretty impressive how this man made the characters so beautiful. After a few demonstrations, we went back to our desks and started to paint. At first it was difficult. We had to use half of our chair and keep our back straight and keep the paintbrush straight up and down. A few minutes later, our teacher came around to each student and held our brush and helped us stroke the characters in the correct order. We were in class for about two hours, but the time passed by really fast. We decided to get really creative with the four characters and embrace different styles of writing. After class we cleaned up all of our materials and headed for our apartment. We were still getting use to riding the bus and trying to figure out which bus led us back to our apartment. We got in line and waited for the bus to come. After about a ten-minute ride, we got off walked less than a block, and got home and relaxed. It went over all of the grammar and characters we had learned that day. Everything we learned was pretty much a review, but it helped tremendously. Now we can go to restaurants and not have that much of a problem ordering food. We did not have much homework, but we were able to practice by conversing with each other. It was great having roommates that understood, and helped you practice your Chinese speaking skills. Overall we had a great day. We were really excited about Wednesday’s classes and calligraphy again!
Monday, June 9, 2008
From Tiffany - May 31
We all woke up to be ready by 11:00am.Chris, a teacher a Fu Jen University, came to take us to the school.
The school was so beautiful and big. We toured the language center and the school so we can become familiar with our new community. When we arrived to the school, we were greeted by the staff of the school and the Notre Dame students. Afterwards we took our placement exams to determine which classes we will be in. Everyone was so shocked about the school and the warm welcome from the teachers and the students. The language center was unique. Since the classes are small, we will learn so much. The teacher will be able to work with us one on one, unlike American classes. After we toured the center we went home and toured the neighborhood so we can become familiar with the area.
On Sunday JSU’s Taiwanese exchange student, Peiying, and her parents took us all out to eat dinner and dessert at 3 different restaurants. We were so full and tired of eating but we didn’t turn anything down. Everywhere we went people were smiling because they never saw Americans before. We smiled back and offered to take pictures with them. Later on that night we rested to prepare us for the first day of school.
This is going to be interesting.
From Tiffany - May 29
Before I begin, I would like to thank God for blessing all seven of us with this opportunity of a lifetime.
We have struggled so much and sacrificed so much to make it to
I arrived at the airport around
During the mandatory advising sessions, we had hours to break the ice but we still stayed in our comfort zone. It was these moments that forced us to join hands in this educational movement. After we went through security, our parents all waved bye because it will be two months before they see us again smiling with many stories to tell about our journey. On the plane we were separated but we regrouped at the airport in
What a warm welcome. Our greeters were so nice and sweet. They made us feel welcomed. On the ride to the apartment in the rain, we loved the scenic view. Watching all the Chinese characters really put our minds to work because we have to use what we learned in class. After 20 minutes of driving, we arrived at our apartments. We were so happy for this because dorm life can be stressful. After we got settled we went to sleep so we can wake up early to go visit the school.
From Tiffany
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