Back to school

I can write the Chinese character for “I” now. It’s only taken three months to manage this. And now there’s a mere 4,999 more characters to have a ‘working’ vocabulary. We have lessons every Wednesday at 9 o’clock; the lessons are good but I can’t help thinking that once a week just isn’t going to be enough (especially if I don’t do my homework). This week I’m meant to study the sentence “I teach at Chengdu Foreign Languages School”, part of which you can see in the picture. I have to admit there’s something satisfying about getting the characters right. It’s not just the technicality of the letter (like knowing the difference between a ‘b’ and a ‘d’) but when you do it right it simply feels right and looks beautiful.

It’s helping in restaurants too. Gradually I’m starting to recognise the odd character here and there so I can, for instance, pick out a chicken, pork or beef dish. It might be chicken soup or beef testicle but at least I’m not totally bemused by a Chinese menu. I can spot the character for ‘big’ as in ‘big reductions’ or ‘big portions’ which is handy; and I know the character for China which, as you’d expect, you see everywhere. Knowing the difference between ‘Ladies’ and ‘Gents’ is useful too.

Speaking-wise, I’m terribly lazy. If there’s someone else with me I’ll let them do the talking so I don’t practise as much as I should. I really need to get out on my own and make myself talk (hell, I don’t say much at the best of times – even in English!). But come January we get six weeks off and I’ll be travelling properly on my own for the first time since I’ve been here.

Can’t wait.