Today I was very excited because it was our first day of class. Not only was I anticipating learning Mandarin, I was also looking forward to a slower day, with less activities and heat. The TA's and one of our professors introduced us to various computer programs that we could use to type in Chinese and translate between traditional characters, simplified characters, and pinyin. I enjoyed it quite a bit; I believe I will use these programs and websites frequently.
Afterward, we went to lunch at an Italian restaurant with our TAs, then had our class conversation time with them. We discussed our field trip yesterday and also cultural differences. There were some awkward silences since we were doing all this in Chinese to practice our language skills. Hopefully we will be more talkative in future sessions.
Later, we just all hung out with a few of our TAs. Their names are Stella, Jovy, Simon, and Ting. They took us to their palatial-looking apartment complexes to play pool, ping pong, and sing karaoke. I am really thankful for our TAs, coordinators, and professors. Everyone here is so nice and helpful. Also, I already feel like my Chinese skills are improving from just being immersed in the culture. It makes me so happy to be able to hold a conversation or sing karaoke in Mandarin. Hahaha. Well...it's time for a very late dinner. Talk to you later!
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