Today was our first full day in Nanjing and also our first day of Chinese immersion classes. Upon arriving in Nanjing the day before, I was extremely excited to explore the city and try some of Nanjing's world famous street food. However, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to actually communicate with the street vendors and order what I want, without being able to speak Chinese. With no one to translate for me, I would only go to restaurants that had pictures on their menus, so I could simply point at what I wanted. Unfortunately, this left me with very limited choices. This morning was the first time I ever ordered food by myself in China since most of the time we ate as a group, and delicious food just appeared in front of me. I decided to muster up some courage and wander outside of the Nanjing University campus in search of breakfast. Though I was nervous, I was also hungry, and so I had to speak up and try my best to use what little Chinese I know to get food. I ended up walking into one of the first restaurants I saw, called 永和大王 "Yong He King" in English , a breakfast eatery famous for its Chinese style burritos, called Jianbing – a thin egg wrap filled with fried dough and a special sauce. At this point in the trip, many of us, like myself, seem to becoming more comfortable with the Chinese breakfast and no longer crave the traditional continental pancakes and eggs. However, the language barrier is definitely an extra challenge that I think many of us continue struggle with when it comes to assimilating here, and for that reason alone, I was eager to get started with the language classes.
For most of us, class began at 8 AM this morning. We had to be divided into the appropriate language class according to our level. Some of us, like myself, were dropped into Nanjing University's already existing language classes, whereas larger groups at the intermediate and advanced levels got private classes set up for them. After a grueling 4 hours of practicing and drilling through reading and speaking exercises, we were burnt out. The teaching style is very different here, and is much more focused on speaking colloquially than on basic comprehensive reading and writing. I learned phrases that I would be able to apply to my daily life while in China. And even after just one day of practicing Chinese, I already feel more confident in my ability to apply what I've learned and use the language outside of class.
After language class we had a lunch break, followed by a Chinese calligraphy class. Here we learned how to write Chinese characters in the traditional artistic style. We learned about the 5 different types of calligraphy, which range from "seal" the most basic style, to "cursive," a more complex one. Chinese calligraphy is more technical than I had anticipated, and is much more complicated than it looks. A lot of focus and precision goes into creating those smooth brush strokes, while keeping in line with the overall distribution and spacing of the characters. We learned that, for the "seal style" that we are learning, each stroke has to be the same thickness and that all edges must be rounded. We practiced painting the Chinese character for the word "fortune," one that is commonly seen in various places around China to inspire positivity. Through trial and error, and a little bit of frustration, we all eventually came out of class with a work of art that we can be proud of, complete with a red seal and signed in our own unique Chinese names. Doing such an activity was not only relaxing but also an interesting opportunity to take a hands on approach to learning. Chinese calligraphy is just one example of an ancient technique that has been preserved through cultural practices. I was told that even until today, many Chinese people remember being forced to learn calligraphy when they were children and that it is very thoroughly ingrained in their upbringing.
Today was interesting in that we had a lot more time than usual to get settled down and really process everything that we've been doing for the past week. Even though we were not out touring the city or checking out any historical sites, I did learn a lot about lifestyle and culture, and about one of the many challenges of being a foreigner in the country. Overall, I learned what it would be like to actually study in China, or even live here in the future. Since we're going to be in Nanjing for the next 3 weeks, I anticipate that by the end, we will all feel right at home.
- Sania M. 马琳雅
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