Chinese @ MindSay

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Last weekend was fun and interesting!  But i'm so busy working full time now (and often too tired to write a bunch by the end of the day-- also from getting over a cold)... as well as other activities like Ruhi study circles and Aikido... so i haven't found time to write about it until now!
Anyway, so last weekend, on Saturday, was many Olympians' annual favorite: The Procession of the Species.  Which is a long parade of people and floats dressed as endangered species and coincides with Earth week.  For more info and pictures of it you can click here X.  Apparently a 27,000 member crowd of tall 'n's and munchkins gathered and watched.  (i.e adults and children).  And i was one of them.  It was a beautiful sunny day the whole day.  With the flowers up and trees also in full bloom.  :^)
Upon arriving downtown a little after 16:30 i parked near the place where the parade would end where the wonderful Traditions Cafe is.  I was surprised and happy to find colored chalk all around and adults and kids drawing all over the road (which was blocked from traffic) and side walks.  I first walked a few blocks until i came upon a place where the parade was going by.  After watching a while, i went back to were the parade would end and watched the beginning of the parade go by.  I then found an area of sidewalk i liked with the Capitol Park to my back and sat down with some colored chalks and started drawing with out a plan other than for it to be on the Baha'i theme of "unity in diversity" it got bigger and bigger until ended up with the final result (see photos included).  I didn't have my camera, but my attempt at art was still there on Sunday at noon, when i went back there after almost completing Ruhi Book 2.
I ended up being very happy that i didn't have my camera the day before because otherwise i wouldn't have stumbled upon Olympia's 2008 Dragonboat Festival!  I noticed lots of tented booths in the distance, next to Capitol Lake.  When i walked up to them i found out from one of them that was handing out event programs that the 2008 Olympia Dragon Boat festival was in progress right then and there!  It's sponsored by neighboring town Lacey's Saint Martin's Uni.  So i spent the next few hours watching the races and meeting the team from China-- from the Shanghai Maritime University, (i was eager to practice my Chinese a bit) which is also the team which won the First Place for the whole competition!  By 14:00 i was getting quite hungry and started strolling into town to find a place to eat.  On the way i stopped off at some interesting booths, first was one for the Olympia Area Chinese Fellowship which was doing free calligraphy of Western names transcribed into Chinese characters.  I already have a Chinese name (Kuò Lì Yà --阔利亚) so i had him do that (on a bookmark sized piece of paper) and chatted to them about China and found out about local Tai-chi and Chinese language classes that i hope to take once i have money to spend on such things (the Aikido instructor, Will Sensei, is very kind and compassionate in allowing me to participate in his classes already now even though it'll be a couple months before i'll be able to start contributing financially).
Eventually i pulled myself away from that booth only to get stuck at a booth with Japanese students who were doing the same with Japanese Characters (in Japanese my name is Ko Ri Ya or Ko Ya and there's 3 different scripts in which it could be written!).  I enjoyed meeting and chatting with them (and getting my name written in Katakana) and so it was around 15:00 by the time i actually got to the restaurant (i chose the Indian restaurant which has an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for about $8).  It's yummy!  ... I was wearing a Baha'i pendant and while i paid for the meal the owner enjoyed identifying the religious symbols of the world's major religions that are on it.
After lunch i headed back to the lake and practiced calligraphy (writing Ai Ki Do) with the Japanese students (from St. Martins Uni) under their tent at which time it started raining and then pouring.  After getting my coat i then watched the finals of the Dragonboat races.  The Shanghai team won the first place (see photo) as they did the last time they were here, in 2006.
On Monday evening and this morning (Saturday) i attended Aikido classes in Olympia for the first time.  It's great fun-- but i noticed how out of shape i've gotten in the year since i was an Uchideshi at Nippon-Kan in Denver!  I was very sore on Tuesday and Wednesday!  But i think i'll be able to stay healthier now that i'm getting regular exercise-- despite being around little kids all the time, hopefully!

1.       Do you have a computer?  

你  有   计 算   机 吗？

 ni3 you3 ji4 suan4 ji1 ma?

2.  Yes, I do.  
  

是  的，  我  有。

shi4 de , wo3 you3.)

3.  He has that book, doesn't he?

他  有  那   本   书， 是  吗？

ta1 you3 na4 ben3 shu1, shi4 ma1?

4.  No, he doesn't.  

    不，他   没    有。
    bu4, ta1 mei2 you3.

5.  Do you have any brothers or sisters?  

    你  有    兄 弟   或    姐 妹  吗？

ni3 you3 xiong1di4 huo4 jie3mei4ma?

6.  No, I'm a single son.

    没    有，我   是  独   生   子。
    mei2 you3, wo3 shi4 du2 sheng1 zi3.

7.  Does your computer have a modem?  

     你   的 电   脑   有   调  制   解  调  器  吗？

ni3 de1 dian4 nao3 you3 tiao3 zhi4 jie3 tiao3 qi4 ma1?

8.  Do you have shampoo here?  

    这   儿   有    香   波  卖   吗？

zhe4 er1 you3 xiang1 bo1 mai4 ma1?

9.  What a beautiful garden you have!  

    你  的 花  园     真   漂   亮。

ni3 de hua1 yuan2 zhen1 piao4 liang4

10.  Any tickets left?  

     有   剩     票    吗？

you3 sheng4 piao4 ma1?

11.  Do you have glue? I need some here.  

     你  有   胶   水   吗？我   这   里 需  要 一  点。

ni3 you3 jiao1 shui3 ma1? wo3 zhe4 li3 xu1 yao4 yi1 dian3.

12.  I have some left.

     我    剩   下   一 些。

wo3 sheng4 xia4 yi1 xie1

13.  If you have more, please give me some.

     如  果  你  有   多   的，请   给  我。

ru2 guo3 ni3 you3 duo1 de, qing3 gei3 wo3.

14.  Do you have my pencil?
    

你  拿 了  我  的 铅   笔   吗？

ni3 na2 le wo3 de1 qian1 bi3 ma1?

 

15.         Yes, I have your eraser, too.  

是  的，我   还  拿  了你  的  橡   皮。

shi4 de, wo3 hai2 na2 le1 ni3 de1 xiang4 pi2

 

 

 

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Use the language as much as possible. Even when you can’t speak but a few phrases, use those phrases. Textbooks and websites are excellent sources of gaining new understanding and vocabulary, but finding a native speaker to practice with is essential for developing any real fluency.

 

Think in the language. This takes a long time to achieve, but it is the only true fluency. As phrases and sentence patterns become natural to you, your mind will be capable of using that vocabulary and grammar in thinking. If you want to increase your fluency you must force your mind to think in the language rather than your native tongue when studying.

 

Consider putting off studying Chinese characters. If your goal is oral fluency, you may wish to hold off on learning characters. Chinese characters are a large investment in time. If you only have a few months of study before you need to use your Chinese, you may want to budget all your time for learning how to speak and understand. Characters will aid you in learning, but the time it takes to learn a sufficient amount of characters may be too high of a cost. On the other hand, if you can wait for fluency, studying the characters parallel to your regular study is probably the most effective method.

 

Constantly study and review. Carry flashcards everywhere. You can spend 5 minutes waiting in line doing nothing, or you can spend 5 minutes in line learning something you want to know.

 

Concentrate when someone is talking to you in Chinese.It’s easy to tune someone out and just pretend you are understanding once you get lost in a conversation. Stick with it, it will increase your retentive ability. If you do get lost, try to listen for words you know or ask them to repeat (if possible).

 

When you get a headache, take a break. When you feel unwell your ability to learn is decreased. In fact, if you are studying hard you should take frequent breaks to keep your mind fresh.

 

In Chinese, accuracy is better than large vocabulary. If you know a lot of words but you say them wrong, it doesn’t help much. Practice the sounds and tones constantly. Ask for correction. Chinese people would rather not point out your mistakes and tend to emphasize how good you are doing.

 

Correct yourself whenever you notice yourself make a mistake. Repeat a new word or phrase until you get it right. If you make a mistake while talking to someone else, stop yourself and say it right. You may even wish to ask them to model the phrase for you if you feel that would be appropriate.

 

Don’t be shy. Try to say what you can in the language, and if you get it wrong, explain until someone understands what you mean. Then ask them how they’d say it. Try to give the explanation in the language even if the person you speak to knows good English.

 

Write new vocabulary down. Use the romanization as well as characters (if you are learning characters). This will help you to listen and will give you good practice with the romanization system. After you write it down, ask someone what the meaning is and give them the context you heard it in. Then, review that new vocabulary when waiting around.

 

Buy a good dictionary and a good language text. While using a language is the only way to get fluent, good literature can add lots of new vocabulary to practice.

Spend at least 30 consecutive minutes a day studying the language, more if you’re on a roll.

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