Hiya! Admit it, you thought this was an abandoned blog, didn't you? Pretty close. No, here in California, the 沙普瑞 family is 不错，还可以，and all that jazz. Over 4 months of 中文上课 have elapsed, and I find myself 越来越多 using the 'ol 中文。It just kinda pops in there, you know? And "you have to admit it" (© Mark Schafer, ca. 1991), the 中文子 are 很有意思，对不对？
I never thought that learning Chinese would be easy, but I am still surprised, even now, over 4 months down the road, how much effort it takes every day. I have class 6 – 7 hours M-F. Then there is at least 2-3 hours of homework each night. This is the minimum. If you have any additional time for extra study, it is highly encouraged. My class, a 50-week "accelerated" version of the Basic Mandarin Chinese course (normally 64 weeks in length), is about to start the 18th week upon conclusion of this weekend. We are starting our 28th lesson (of 30 in the first semester, of 3 total semesters). As a comparison, another class of the "normal" 64-week version in another department of the Chinese Language school will also be on their 18th week as well, and starting their…20th lesson. That's right folks, almost 33% faster than your standard Basic Mandarin course! It shows…we students are crushed under the load weekly. I guess I am "sort of" used to it by now, but it is not much fun to do it this way week in and week out.
There was another return, of sorts, yesterday: my first race since Hawaii. Today's event was the Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay. Best I can recall, this was my 5th half marathon. (I ran the Lincoln Half twice, the Omaha Half once, a Half in Hawaii in fall 2006, and now this one.) Finishing time – not my best, but not bad: 1:39:36, a 7:36 / mile pace over the 13.1 miles. I was shooting for 7:30 / mile, so I was a bit off of that, but, I told myself I would be happy with anything under 1:40, which I accomplished. You can see the results here. My bib number was 328, or you can just search by name. *Updated: here are a few pictures from race day!
(Author waving at lower right of this last picture, bib #328)
Lastly, Happy 233rd Birthday, United States Marines! Raise up a glass and celebrate!
GJS
1 comment:
It's good to hear that the Sampson family is good and alright. Four month of attending Chinese class? No kidding. Using the 'ol Chinese more and more? You don't say. And yes, it's true, the Chinese characters are very interesting.
照料事务 & 完成她
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