Last week we were introduced to Chinese Caligraphy (毛笔字). You can the results of my efforts above. Whilst my characters may be a long way off artistic excelence, we had great fun. There are so many sides to learning Chinese that I had never appreciated.

I think the artistic gene, at least the one that involves using a paintbrush, passed me by. My brother and sisters seem to be able to pick up a paintbrush and just produce magnificent work. Clearly more practice is required on my part.

It has been just under two weeks since I was given my practice plan by Aggie at ChinesePod. With only a couple of hours to go before I jump on a plane and head to Beijing, I thought I’d make a few quick notes on my progress so far.

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Early this morning I had my first “Needs Analysis” session with Aggie from ChinesePod. I wasn’t too sure what to expect and will admit that as I sat there, headphones on, my heart did start to beat a little faster. Would I be asked to speak Chinese? Would there be a test? Would she be appalled by my incredibly slow progress? The session lasted just over half an hour but we managed to cover some of the biggest challenges I have faced with self study. Read on to find out more.

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