啊呀 Aya! I Think I Bruised My Brain

Our first week of school is done. It was quite a week. In five days we covered 10 chapters. We were required to learn 120 vocabulary words. That includes recognizing the character, being able to write the pinyin (phonetic spelling), with correct tone. We were given a test Friday. We thought that it would be a selection of the words. We were wrong. We were tested on every last character that we covered. Our teacher, 上老师 (Shang Laoshi), is a very sweet lady but she clearly has lost touch with reality. Her expectations for us are too high. Every day after class she gives us tons of homework (I thought I gave that up with high school), and we have to practice writing characters that she test us on the next day. On top of that we have our other studying to do, and just being able to buy the daily necessities can be an experience that we have to struggle with. Aya! I think I bruised my brain. (This is one of the Chinese words that I know really well is aya. It is an interjection that denotes surprise or pain. If you have been keeping up with the blogs then you know that I have had many slapstick moments that give me the opportunity to use it.) You know how if you work out too much, or if you haven’t worked a muscle group in recently, you can hurt yourself? Well since they say the brain is like a muscle, does the same thing apply? I think so! There are parts of the brain that I have been using to learn Chinese that have clearly not seen much action for awhile. So that I don’t seem too negative about school, I am actually learning. When we walk down the street or go to the store we get to put into practice the things that we cover in class. Being able to recognize more characters is really helping our comprehension. Studying 语法 (yufa or grammar) is helping us understand how to use the words we know properly. It is hard work but there is also an expression that is used in connection to exercise. No pain, no gain. I sometimes think back to when I was a training officer with the fire department. When we had recruits to train we really worked them hard. We pushed them to the brink of mental and physical exhaustion and beyond. When their bodies and minds were ready to give up but the task was incomplete we would have to motivate them. Sometimes, we would use an encouraging word. Other times it would take a kick in the pants kind of like they do in a boot camp. But we would always remind them why they were willing to put themselves through so much. They had a goal. They wanted to be firefighters. To reach, that goal they had to train themselves even if it hurt. Well for me (I speak only for me because Amanda loves class and is doing really well, of course),when things get tough and I am getting to the point of total mental fatigue then I have to give myself a mental kick in the pants. I usually do this by picturing Jack Veal, one of my fellow training officers, in my face yelling at me. (Jack is a master motivator and is full of funny quotes.) Also I think about what all this hard work will accomplish. One out of every three babies born in the world is Chinese. There are huge Chinese communities in just about every country on the planet. My goal is to be able to communicate well enough so that I can teach them. A magazine that I read once says that people learn best if they are taught in the language that they speak in their heart. I want to be able to speak to their heart. So, I guess I will push pass the mental fatigue, and get back to my homework. – Frank
We have something in common. Your mama and my mama are both mamas. – Jack Veal
If you gonna be stupid, you better be tough. - Jack Veal