Only in China

Sat in the corner of Starbucks, I am surrounded by multiple small business meetings. MacBook Airs are the laptop of choice and the dominant language is English. I’m not in London, I’m in Beijing.

Two weeks into my fifth visit (a vacation), I find myself thinking back over what I have observed and wondering what I have learned about China. Relatively speaking, I’m a China newbie: I can barely speak the language and I have yet to take the plunge and work here, but already some things are starting to feel vaguely familiar. It doesn’t take long though before any illusion of familiarity is shattered in a way that is only possible in China.

Continue reading

Studying Chinese Alone?

Yesterday I put the word out on ChinesePod and Twitter that I was looking for anyone who was studying Chinese, but also blogging about the experience. There don’t appear to be any blogs dedicated to sharing the experience of learning Mandarin, but many people seem to be posting little snippets on their personal blogs.

So, if you thought you were studying alone, here is a selection of posts that might help, or cheer you up. By sharing our experiences, we can all make the journey to Mandarin fluency that little bit more exciting.

Continue reading