Having lived, worked and travelled abroad for the past few years, my passport has many visas, resident permits and stamps in it. Before I went to China, I took some evening classes in Mandarin Chinese, and continued (or rather restarted) studying it in China. I started to learn it when I was in graduate school.…
Language Learning
‘We’re in the endgame now’
That has both literal and metaphorical meaning. Avengers: Endgame was released in China last week, before the UK or US. I will not say how many times I have seen the film, only that it is more than once. I do not actually mind spoilers, but I know a lot of people do, and I…
The mystery of the missing glove
Since joining the gym, I have been going often. The other day, I arrived and went to the changing rooms to change. It has turned quite cold recently, so I was wearing some gloves. The changing room is small, with a stool in the corner and nothing else. I started to get changed and sort…
Training sessions… or not
Now I am teaching the English major students, I was asked to attend a training session on Wednesday, about a new computer programme I can use with my speaking class. I asked if it was going to be in Chinese, and was told by our liaison teacher it probably would be (regardless of the fact…
Can you give me an example?
My Chinese classes have recently become a lot harder. We have been focusing on more nuances of grammar, which I guess is good, because it means I am advancing, but it is also more difficult and confusing. For example, in my last class, we looked at gǎi 改, huàn 换, and biànhuà 变化. They are…
