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.

 

 

 

8,112 thoughts on “Character Building”

  6. May I simply just say what a relief to uncover somebody who actually understands what they’re discussing on the internet. You certainly know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people need to read this and understand this side of your story. I can’t believe you’re not more popular given that you surely have the gift.

  8. Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.|

  24. That is a really good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Simple but very precise information… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read post.

  27. An intriguing discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you need to publish more about this subject matter, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people do not speak about such issues. To the next! Many thanks.

  30. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every day. It will always be interesting to read articles from other authors and use a little something from their sites.

  40. I blog often and I truly thank you for your information. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your blog and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too.

  41. Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Thank you, However I am encountering issues with your RSS. I don’t know why I cannot subscribe to it. Is there anybody else getting the same RSS problems? Anybody who knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanks!!

  42. What’s up everyone, it’s my first go to see at this website, and article is genuinely fruitful in support of me, keep up posting these types of articles or reviews.|

  43. An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you should write more about this subject, it might not be a taboo matter but generally people do not talk about these issues. To the next! Kind regards!

  45. Hi there, I believe your web site may be having web browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in I.E., it’s got some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Apart from that, fantastic blog.

  46. I was very pleased to find this website. I want to to thank you for ones time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely really liked every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to look at new things in your site.

  50. The very next time I read a blog, I hope that it won’t disappoint me as much as this particular one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I truly thought you would probably have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something you can fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.

Comments are closed.