Summer’s officially arrived and what am I doing everyday?! Studying for the HSK level 5 Chinese test. And not just studying but studying my ass off. I’ve never studied for something like this, and frankly it’s pissing me off. I’m
Making it Official: My New Goal
Okay, I have thought long and hard about this and after looking things up on the internet and talking to several people I have decided to make a major commitment: On July 21st, I am going to take the HSK
Impromptu Chinese Lesson
You would think that living in China while learning Chinese means I get a lot of practice. In some ways I do (and I certainly could never learn the language if I didn’t live here) but in many ways, it
My Favorite Apps for Working and Living in China- Part 2
The other day I introduced several apps that I find make life in China easier. Today I’d like to recommend a few more specific to learning Chinese. While I like learning Chinese I’m especially bad a picking up a book
I Hired a Tutor!
So, I finally decided to fork over the cash, and get my own chinese teacher. You see, speaking Chinese is now a common thing in my life. I speak, or write, Chinese every single day now. Sometimes a lot, sometime
Another Weapon in the Language Learning Arsenal — FluentFlix
A few months ago a new start-up Chinese learning company called FluentFlix contacted me wondering if I would try, then review, their new website. (I give kudos to their research team if they managed to find my blog.) I finally
A Compliment, Wrapped in an Insult (Wrapped in a Burrito)
The other day I wrote about Weixin (english name Wechat) the app that lets you chat easily with people in your area. I could go on and on about weixin and how I think it has actually changed the course
Summertime, and the Living is 很容易
It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about learning Chinese, but this semester I feel like I have taken some real leaps. Thanks to a pretty light teaching schedule I was able to attend Chinese class everyday. I finally advanced to
Jumping on the Skritter App Bandwagon
In the world of learning chinese, there are two big players: ChinesePod and Skritter. ChinesePod handles the listening and speaking part, and Skritter handles the writing part. I’ll admit in the language learning “trifecta” (reading, speaking, writing) I have decided
China Fail
I know I’ve bragged talked a bit about learning Chinese here on this blog and how my progress has been. Maybe I’ve made it sound a bit too easy, or my level a bit too advanced. I offer this small