Happy 2nd Year Anniversary to Me!

It’s hard to believe we’ve been in a serious relationship for a little more than two years. Yes, that’s right, two years ago I decided to spend the rest of my life with my one and only…but it’s not what or whom you might think.

If you’ve been reading my previous posts (see American Girl Trapped in a Chinese World) you would know very well that my true love is Mandarin Chinese. Okay, so I’m somewhat of a language nerd, I know, but in all seriousness, studying different languages has been one of my loves from the start, and the Chinese language is my ultimate box of chocolates.

Reflecting back on my journey with learning Chinese, I begin to think about just how I have made myself improve to such a great extent.

Of course I can’t say I’m fluent, or anywhere close to that level, (not yet at least) but I think I’ve done a pretty solid job when it comes down to retaining certain aspects of the language. Pardon me for boasting about myself,(something I do far too often) but I’d like to take some time to share with you some of the ‘tricks’ I’ve used to master Mandarin and explain why I feel they’ve worked.

I've thought long and hard about how language learning develops in such a way that causes a person to improve little by little, especially those who are late starters. I've contemplated the various reasons as to why some people just cannot seem to grasp the concepts of a foreign language and instead of improving, stay stuck at the same level still trying to remember the correct tones for 'Ni Hao' (hello). Yes, the Chinese language has tones (see post It's All About the Tones).

I’m going to provide you with four of my own theories that explain why language learners improve and develop quickly, especially in such a short amount of time. 

       1. INTEREST IS KEY!

It’s very simple. If you’re not interested in something, you’re most likely not going to perform well in that something... (all jokes aside for now). But it’s very true. Here’s a little story: There once was a young girl who liked Mandarin so much that she committed to studying it every day and listening to it every day and speaking with it every day and she and Mandarin ended up falling in love and getting married and to this day, every day after they quarrel they make up for hours and hours because how could this young girl possibly stay mad at Mandarin…? (Okay, seriously ALL JOKES ASIDE!)) But my point is made, is it not? I love learning the language so much that my interest is what drives me to not only keep learning it, but improving at it rather quickly.

2. YOU MUST MAKE THE TIME

For someone who has a tremendous amount of time on her hands, learning Mandarin has become second nature. It has just become something I must do and mustn’t forget to do. The moment I lay eyes on a Mandarin language dictionary on the shelf at the bookstore or flip through the pages of a self-study book I immediately become infatuated, and can’t seem to put my learning tools aside. I make time to read through my books daily and commit to memory everything I learned. And of course there’s always a little extra time for getting my ear nibbled on by my Chinese audio sessions :)))

3. EAT, LIVE AND BREATHE

This point might sound a bit arduous, but it couldn’t be truer. In order to improve, you MUST eat, live and breathe the language. Okay, so don’t actually eat your flashcards, but you get my point: Commit your all to the language. You’ll know you gave your all when you are asked a question in English and your brain immediately wants to answer in Chinese. Or when you see an item in your kitchen and think of the Mandarin word for that item before thinking of the English word. Believe me, eating, living and breathing the language makes a HUGE difference. However afterwards, don’t forget to take a well-deserved break. Trust me, you’ll need it.

4. GET YOUR REST

It's impossible to function without rest. That's pretty obvious right? Just because you are devoting an extensive amount of time to learning your language doesn't mean it has to take up your whole life. After those exciting hours of listening and speaking, forget about everything you learned. I like to take no more than a three day break in between my self-study sessions and think in English for a while. I put my books, dictionaries and notecards aside for a while. Why does this help? Mainly because you are giving your brain time to process all that information you just learned. You are simply taking some time off, but don't forget to get right back to work after your short break. And oh yeah, expect to have many dreams in the language you are learning. I dream in Chinese a lot, which of course is not surprising. And then there was that one dream I had in Korean...but that's another story.

So for my anniversary I guess I'll be sitting back, relaxing and giving my brain time to process everything I've learned...ha, yeah right. Recess is over. It's straight to the books for me.

--I continue to get one-on-one tutoring on a weekly basis in addition to studying on my own time. Thanks to all who have helped me get this far in my Chinese language learning.

加油, (Keep Going)

Spencer Alise

My Newly Acquired Talent

I'm a pro at using chopsticks

Who says it's not okay to break the rules every now and then? I'm just one to show off my newly acquired talents and using chopsticks with my feet is my most recent one.

Okay, I know exactly what you're thinking. You're saying to yourself: "She can't possibly know how to use chopsticks with her feet...can she?

Let's just say...you might be right. So what? I can't use them with my feet. Not yet at least. After all, it did take me what felt like a century to learn how to use them with my hands. Here's the timeline in a nutshell:

Tried using chopsticks with hands years ago. Didn't work. Gave up. Picked it back up again. Gave up again. Saw that my sister Madi could use them well. Thought how could this be?? Tried again. Got frustrated but didn't show it. Travelled to Beijing, China. Realized I had to somehow eat the food sitting in front of me. Picked up a pair of chopsticks and started eating like a pro.

So what's the lesson learned here??? Well it's very simple. If you want to learn how to use chopsticks you must physically go to China and be forced to eat with nothing but chopsticks. NO FORKS ALLOWED! Well, you could always use your hands but that's just not a good look now is it?

So in order to learn how to use chopsticks with my feet I must now pack my bags and head back to the hustle and bustle of Beijing. You watch. I'll be using them with my feet in no time ;)

P.S. Just want to congratulate all of you who learned how to use chopsticks in the US! Really solid job guys! And oh yeah, great job Madi for being a pro at such an early age! You go girl!!

Jia You ! 加油

SpEnCeR aLiSe :) :) :)

Fu-Han,Hong-Li and The Wise Dragon: A Fable for Children of All Ages 0-100

--Written by Spencer Alise, Feb.2013

Long ago, in a village located just near the outskirts of Sichuan Province, there

lived a mighty dragon. However this wasn’t just any old dragon. This dragon, being of

multiple colors, was knowledgeable on the subject of wisdom, and all who knew him,

went to him to be instructed in whatever aspects of wisdom they so chose.

Everyone in this small village referred to him as The Wise Dragon, and knew his

character very well. One day, during summer, two young boys, Fu-Han and Hong-Li,

went to visit The Wise Dragon for instruction on how to behave properly with their

elders. Now these boys were sent to the dragon by their parents, who, having respected

the dragon greatly, wanted to instill in their sons the proper way to behave and show

respect, something that these boys lacked. These two young boys were twins, identical in

fact, and both lacked multiple Confucian values that they should have contained,

especially at such a young age. This disappointed their parents greatly, and so they sent

Fu-Han and Hong-Li off to be educated by The Wise Dragon.

           

Fu-Han and Hong-Li were not that pleased to hear of their parents’ decision, for

they fought back in every way possible, and tried to avoid being educated by the dragon.

“But why do you make us go father?” Hong-Li asked one evening. “We absolutely have

no need! We don’t like being educated by The Wise Dragon!” Upon hearing his son’s

remark, Hong-Li’s father became angry. “Son, it is my duty to make sure you and your

brother learn respect and grow up into wise young men. For if you do not, I have not

done my duty as a father.” Hong-Li said nothing in response to this. He just huffed and

puffed, (something he did not learn from the dragon) and stomped off in anger.

            As the summer days went by, and Fu-Han and Hong-Li had been seeing The Wise

Dragon for some time, Hong-Li did not find the lessons to be that effective. “Brother,”

Hong-Li said to Fu-Han one day after walking back from the village, “We have had

enough. Don’t you see that we are not learning anything from The Wise Dragon?” Fu-

Han looked at Hong-Li intently. “I have actually been enjoying my time Hong- Li," said

Fu-Han. “Maybe father and mother are right. We ought to learn how to be wise and show

respect.” Hong-Li could not believe what he had just heard his brother say. “How could

you say that Fu- Han? You know we are meant to be bad, and play tricks and show

revenge, and do many other things those of which mother and father would not approve!”

Hong-Li was becoming angry, very angry. “If I could blow fire at you right now I

would!” Hong-Li yelled, and ran off in the distance, where eventually Fu-Han caught up

with him back at home.

Later that night, after Hong-Li had settled down, Fu-Han approached him before

preparing for bed. “My brother,” he said, “Let us make a deal. If you do not want to

continue being taught by The Wise Dragon, you do not have to worry.” Hong-Li looked

up at his brother with great confusion. “What do you mean?” But Fu-Han had a plan. He

explained to Hong-Li that they would convince their parents to let each boy go to lessons

on separate days, making the excuse that they fight too much when they are together, and

yet would fight less if they were apart. But being that they were identical, and could fool

many who knew them well, they decided that only Fu-Han, since he was the one who

enjoyed the dragons’ teachings, would attend the lessons, while Hong-Li would pretend

to leave, then go off in the distance. Fu-Han would take on the role of himself one day,

then pretend to be Hong-Li the next day. “That’s brilliant Fu-Han,” said Hong-Li when

he heard of it. “You will be doing what you love, and I will be doing what I love!” But

Fu-Han knew that there would be a price he had to pay. However, without the boys

knowing, their mother had been standing outside the door that same night Fu-Han had

revealed his plan to Hong-Li.

That next week, before heading to their lessons, their mother stopped them in

their tracks. “Young men, why are you planning on deceiving me and your father today?

Has not The Wise Dragon taught you two anything?” The boys looked shamefully at each

other. “How did you know mother?” Fu-Han asked. “I overheard you two talking last

night,” she said. “I did not want to say anything to you two. I wanted to see if you would

actually go about doing this plan.” The two boys looked at their mother and apologized.

“You will have a price to pay,” their mother told them. From that point on, Fu-Han and

Hong-Li were escorted to their lessons by their mother, who stayed there with them until

the day was complete. So Fu-Han and Hong-Li continued to go see The Wise Dragon,

and as the summer days passed by, Fu-Han and Hong-Li did begin to show more respect,

and stopped playing tricks. So in a sense Fu-Han and Hong-Li learned multiple lessons

that summer, and from that point on they kept in mind the famous Chinese proverb that

states, ‘There are always ears on the other side of the wall.’ The end.

I hope you enjoyed this tale :)

Jia you! 加油 (Keep Going!)

~Spencer Alise

Chinatown in London

I never hesitate to take a walk through London's Chinatown, grab a cup of Bubble Tea (vanilla is my fave!) and simply enjoy the sounds and smells similar to what I experienced in Beijing.

But it always becomes evident I'm in London whenever I spot the red phone booth right outside an acupuncture and herbs center (you'll see this photo in the slideshow).

For those of you who have been to any Chinatown located in the world, Chinese restaurants, or even China itself, let me ask you this: What is a Chinese dish and/or drink that you must have while there? You can comment on this post or TWEET me your faves @theSpencerAlise

Don't forget to watch the slideshow below.

It can also be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjtbAF3PfyQ

This way to Chinatown :)

Some photos I took of Chinatown in London to give you a sense of what it looks like.  Enjoy!

加油, (Jia you) (Keep Going)
Spencer Alise

Do You Wanna Know More About Chinese New Year?

 Chinese New Year began this year on January 31st and is normally celebrated for fifteen days. This year is the Year of the Horse.

Chun (春)-The Chinese character for Spring

Chinese New Year, also known in China as the Spring Festival or Chun Jie (春节) is one of those holidays that most Americans know very little about. That's why I chose to ask two of my friends, Amy Yan and Yixuan Xu to provide a brief, yet clearer picture of how they spend this holiday celebrated by over 1.3 billion of the world's population. Take a look at how these two celebrated and what they wish Americans knew most about the Chinese New Year.

I asked each of these natives of China questions regarding the Spring Festival. You can find my questions and their answers below.

Amy Yan: I met Amy during my Junior year of high school. A native of Beijing, China, Amy is currently a Junior in college and shares with us her special take on Chinese New Year.

SPENCER: How did you celebrate Chinese New Year this year, year of the horse?

AMY: For Chinese New Year I invited some friends over and cooked some food and made hotpot.

SPENCER: What is your favorite thing to do during Chinese New Year?

Amy: Getting together with friends and watching yearly CCTV shows

SPENCER: Do you have any New Year aspirations?

AMY: For New Year aspirations I hope that I can put more focus and effort into my life.

SPENCER: What is one thing you wish Americans would understand about the Chinese New Year?

AMY: I hope they think Chinese New Year is fun and cool too.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yixuan Xu: Yixuan is the cousin of one of my good friends from college. I met him just a couple of months ago while I was studying in China. He was very helpful with showing me great restaurants around Beijing and taking me to the famous Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan), which is a beautiful park in Beijing.  Here is what Yixuan has to share with us about the holiday:

SPENCER: How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?

YIXUAN: In my family our celebrations of Spring Festival is common and direct. We have lunch and dinner with our direct relative on Chinese New Year's Eve and wish everybody to have a great new year. After that day, we'll go visit our other relative. As the elder one, they need to present the "red packet" which install some money to teenagers and children. The money inside we called Ya Sui Money. As for myself, I prefer to take more time celebrating with my friend.

SPENCER: When New Year celebrations are all over, what is the biggest thing on people's minds? What is everyone thinking about next?

YIXUAN: I think the biggest thing after celebrations is to have a rest, because everybody must be tired after a long, exhausting celebration.

SPENCER: Do you have anything you wish to do differently in the Year of the Horse?

YIXUAN: I have a lot of things to do in the year of the horse such as learning English well, making a different in my job, having some trip with good friends in some good place. But do you know this year is my Ben Ming Year? It's the year which have the same animal representative with the year I was born. According to legend, people will have a tough day in Ben Ming year, so the best wish in this year I wish is to have a healthy and peaceful year.

SPENCER: What is one thing you would love for Americans to understand about Chinese New Year?

YIXUAN: I would love for Americans to know that Spring Festival is like the Christmas in America. It's the most important festival in China.

---Thank you Amy Yan and Yixuan Xu for contributing to this quick interview!

Jia You (Keep Going!)

Spencer Alise

The cake I had for Chinese New Year- Yum!

Happy 21st Birthday to Me!

生日快乐爱丽！！

Special shout out to my friend Jiayi for helping me celebrate my special day! See pics below.

Study time!!

I love finding a quiet classroom where I can practice my Mandarin skills. Relaxation at its best.

Throwback Wednesday?

It's Throwback Wednesday! Wait, is that even allowed???

Words cannot express how much I miss this bustling city! Click the video below, or go to the link to watch this slideshow of photos I put together of spectacular artwork from 798 Art Zone in Beijing, China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTnol2ZZWWs

Happy Birthday Lem!!!!!!

LET'S ALL WISH LEM A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! YAY!!!!!

WISH I COULD BE THERE WITH YOU LEM, BUT KNOW I'M ALWAYS BY YOUR SIDE.

 MAY YOUR DAY BE AS BRIGHT AS THE LEAVES ON THIS TREE!

我爱你!

SPEN

Video slideshow of Lem through the college years

We're Turning 21!!

Spencer and Lemon celebrating their 19th just outside Philadelphia, PA

This week Lem and I will be turning 21! Yay! Happy Birthday to us!!!

Just some old photos

I'm Only an American Girl Trapped in a Chinese World on Days That End In Y

Welcome back to my blog: American Girl Trapped in a Chinese World!

千里之行始于足下 translates to: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-Lao Tzu

For a quick recap of who I am and how my Chinese obsession began, be sure to read my first blog post American Girl Trapped in a Chinese World.

This is where I talk about EVERYTHING Chinese! From the Mandarin language to my four month study abroad experience in China, all of it can be found right here, because after all, I'm only an American girl trapped in a Chinese world on days that end in Y.

What to look for next? 

I'm interested in working on ways to promote stronger relations between Americans and Chinese people. I was recently accepted into an International Honor Society, Phi Beta Delta, which recognizes achievement in international education.

 I would like to dig deeper into these relations and focus on how we can develop a better understanding of each other. A lot of Chinese students are coming to America to study abroad and look for ways to "fit in" with American society. These students are so quickly expected to merge in with the new society and face the challenges that come with studying in another country. I often ask myself: How can we make them feel at home?

These are ideas I will be exploring. If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me:

Email: spenceralise@comcast.net
Instagram: thespenceralise
Twitter: @theSpencerAlise

Thank you to all who have been reading my blog posts. There's so much more to come!

Jia You! (加油) (Keep going!)

Spencer Alise

COMING UP: NEW BLOG POST ON CHINESE NEW YEAR. READ ABOUT HOW SOME OF MY FRIENDS CELEBRATE THIS SPECIAL HOLIDAY:)

My Chinese Loot ;)

CHECK OUT THIS LOOT I BROUGHT BACK FROM CHINA! OREOS, SKITTLES, TOOTHPASTE,  AND SO MUCH MORE!!!!!

Santa's in China!!

Fox News Philadelphia was tracking Santa Claus this morning. He had already delivered billions of gifts and was headed to Chongqing, China as his next stop :) See map below.

The Best Way to End My Semester Abroad :)

Seeing Lem, my Freshman roommate, was definitely the best way to close out a wonderful semester abroad. It had been almost a year since I had seen her. We had so much fun together. I miss her so much already!

It's All About the Tones

I'd like to take a moment to discuss with all of you the MOST IMPORTANT part of learning Mandarin Chinese. This is something that you MUST and I repeat MUST accomplish even before you attempt to speak to native speakers. For all of you who do not know that much about Mandarin Chinese, I am happy to report to you that this language has tones. Yes, tones... and getting these tones correct is VITAL when learning the language. If you conquer this, congratulations, you have passed the first part of learning Chinese, now what are you waiting for? Start speaking! ;))))

 If you are trying to communicate with native Chinese speakers, and your tones are incorrect, believe it or not, they will have a very very difficult time understanding you. You might think you are the one doing the hard work just trying to force a sentence or two out of your mouth, but actually, these native speakers have the hardest job of all: Trying to understand what the heck it is you're trying to say! And not only that, if they don't understand you, then you both just end up feeling uncomfortable and awkward and embarrassed, right?

What do I mean by tones? You can think of these tones as certain pitches, and if your tones come out right, it sounds very nice and very standard indeed. Mandarin Chinese has four tones, (five if you include the neutral tone) First Tone, Second Tone, Third Tone, Fourth Tone, and when pronouncing each word, you must know the correct tones of that word.

Here is a very simple example:

Take the character 有. The spelling (or Pinyin) for this character is 'you'. One meaning of this word is "to have." Now, take this character 又. The Pinyin for this character is also 'you.' One meaning of this word is  "again". Confused???

 Although these characters are different, the two words have the same exact spelling, or Pinyin we call it. It's just that the first 'you' is pronounced in the Third Tone, while the second 'you' is pronounced in the Fourth Tone. So if you want to use the first 'you' meaning "to have," make sure you listen to how that Third Tone is pronounced, and pronounce it just as it's supposed to be pronounced. And remember, the character is not always there for reference, so knowing pronunciations is key!


Why do I choose to discuss this?? Well, it's very simple. During my time spent in Chinese language class (approximately 4 hours a day, Monday-Friday) I have experienced too many mistakes made by students trying to read a sentence or a paragraph in Chinese or trying to tell the teacher about their day. I'm just being honest here with all of you. Everyday I watch the teachers' brows furrow and faces draw a blank as they are trying to make out what it is these foreign students are trying say. The main problem with foreign students when they are trying to learn Chinese is the tones. They just can't seem to get over that hurdle, the most important hurdle when learning this language.

Of course, my tones are not always perfect, but I am proud to say that 98 percent of the time, my tones are correct. I'm a foreigner who has learned to conquer this first step in learning Chinese, so clearly this is not an impossible hurdle to get over, so the question now becomes, why is it so hard for others???

The answer to this is also very simple. It's all about passion. If you do not have passion in learning a foreign language you will most likely not improve very much in that language you are trying to learn. This is very true. No passion equals very little improvement.

But what about the foreigners who do have passion, yet still cannot get those tones correct? My next reason for you then is talent. It helps to have a language learning talent when learning a new language. From the very first time I ever spoke Mandarin Chinese, my tones were considered to be "not bad," and I wasn't even learning the language at that time. Once I started to learn the language I devoted hours and hours a day to perfecting my tones because I understood that this was a priority. I knew that if my tones came out sounding horribly wrong, I could kiss speaking fluent Mandarin Chinese goodbye.

If any of you read my poem titled: I Think I've Met You Before (an earlier blog post) you can see how I personify the Mandarin language, the "you" in my poem. I Think I've Met You Before is a poem written by me to explain my familiarities with Chinese culture and Chinese language, and how I have an uncanny feeling that Asian culture is somewhere in my historical background (see first blog post American Girl Trapped in a Chinese World ).

The beauty of language learning is all about effort. Putting in effort to learn, and having a true desire to learn is extremely important. So if you are thinking about learning Mandarin Chinese, don't let these tones scare you, or hinder you from wanting to learn. Just make sure you get them correct before you talk to native speakers or even before you try to tell the teacher about your day. Trust me, perfect tones make a difference! ;)

I'm Losing my English!!!!

My Chinese tutor told me this would happen! Have any of you ever studied a language so much that you begin to forget how to say or spell certain words in your own native language?? 

Let's face it...I'm losing my English!! I completely forgot how to spell the word "embarrass" during class last week. Felt very EMBARRASSED after I spelled it wrong in front of everyone! Just happy I spelled it right this time:) haha