Character Building

Posted on by

Amid everything else going on in our lives, I’ve added a new hobby. I briefly mentioned it in my Portland post, but now I’m officially fascinated with the Chinese language.  Brian and I would both really like to become more familiar with the Chinese language, both written and spoken– this is an incredibly overwhelming task considering neither of us knows a lick of Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese). Because we don’t know what provinces we’ll be traveling to until we accept a referral, I’m hedging my bets and starting with Mandarin.

I found a great free app for my phone which allows me to practice correct character writing; every morning I review flashcards on my phone and continue to add more and more characters to my vocabulary. Additionally, one of my colleagues and friends at the museum is Chinese and speaks/writes both Mandarin and Cantonese (not to mention what she considers “Beijingese.”)  She’s been incredibly helpful with my stroke order and pronunciation, and I am feeling less and less awkward with all the different inflections needed for this beautiful language.

I can’t quite explain it, but I’m finding my comprehension growing quite naturally. So far, I find the characters quite logical graphically, and I’m starting to put the pronunciation with the character. Another friend at the museum suggested I check our our library’s language software, and I found out excitedly that our library offers Mango Languages for free for all patrons. Woohoo!

I’m sure I’ll be sharing more quips as I learn more, but I had a great moment this week. As you might guess, Brian and I are settling in on our top name choices for our child (most welfare institute names are given en masse– all children in one institution are given the same last name, and first names are given as a matter of practicality. As we’ve mentioned earlier, all children in the Waiting Child Program have been abandoned, with 99.9% having no identifying information, so no medical record, no birthday listed, no name). After practicing some of the characters at lunch one day, my friend at work stopped by and looked at my paper and was able to read what I had written, including our finalists for names.  It’s difficult to articulate, but to have a native speaker be able to read my very amatueur attempt at such a complex language really made my day.

I know learning a new language from scratch is no short-term goal, but I think we and our child will have a lifetime of learning together.

 

 

 

5,376 thoughts on “Character Building”

  1. Right here is the perfect website for anybody who would like to understand this topic. You realize a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a fresh spin on a subject that’s been discussed for ages. Wonderful stuff, just excellent.

    Reply ↓

  3. I blog quite often and I really thank you for your information. The article has really peaked my interest. I’m going to take a note of your site and keep checking for new details about once per week. I opted in for your Feed too.

    Reply ↓

  11. Aw, this was an exceptionally good post. Taking the time and actual effort to make a great article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.

    Reply ↓

  12. Great post. I used to be checking continuously this weblog and I am inspired! Extremely helpful information specially the remaining part 🙂 I take care of such info much. I used to be seeking this certain info for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.

    Reply ↓

  15. I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this website. I am hoping to view the same high-grade blog posts by you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own, personal blog now 😉

    Reply ↓

  18. You are so cool! I don’t suppose I have read something like this before. So wonderful to find someone with some original thoughts on this subject. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is needed on the web, someone with some originality.

    Reply ↓

  20. I was more than happy to discover this web site. I want to to thank you for ones time for this wonderful read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and I have you book marked to see new things on your web site.

    Reply ↓

  23. I’m excited to discover this page. I wanted to thank you for your time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it and I have you saved as a favorite to look at new stuff in your site.

    Reply ↓

  31. Good post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day. It will always be helpful to read through content from other writers and practice something from other sites.

    Reply ↓

  35. The next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint me as much as this particular one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I really thought you would probably have something useful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something that you can fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.

    Reply ↓

  36. Home inspectors agree that a clean, seamless gutter line is a small upgrade that prevents thousand‑dollar foundation repairs down the road. Choosing 6‑inch K‑style aluminum troughs means up to 40 percent more water moves away from your roof, preventing the dreaded waterfall effect in heavy downpours. Annual tune‑ups are available; we flush, reseal corners and adjust hangers so your system keeps working even after the roughest winter freeze–thaw cycles.

    Reply ↓

  37. I blog quite often and I seriously thank you for your content. The article has really peaked my interest. I am going to bookmark your site and keep checking for new details about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too.

    Reply ↓

  38. When I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. Is there a means you are able to remove me from that service? Many thanks.

    Reply ↓

  46. I was very happy to find this website. I want to to thank you for ones time for this wonderful read!! I definitely liked every bit of it and I have you saved to fav to check out new information in your website.

    Reply ↓

  47. An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me dinner due to the fact that I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this issue here on your blog.

    Reply ↓

  48. An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker who was doing a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me dinner simply because I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending the time to discuss this issue here on your internet site.

    Reply ↓

  49. When I initially commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Is there a means you can remove me from that service? Kudos.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply to Thyrafemme Balance Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *