Sichuan University Fall 2017 Schedule
I have been in Chengdu, China for a few weeks, and I’m finally settling into a routine. It has been relatively easy to fall into the same habits that I had last year. I’ve been in class for two weeks now, and I can say that all my classes are very interesting and I’ll be able to learn a lot from them. Time is flying by so quickly, and I can’t believe I’ve already been here almost a whole month.
I saw Paula Zhang ‘s blog (https://paulazhang.wordpress.com/), and she did a wonderful daily schedule blog post. Since I know many of you are curious about my life in China, I decided that a class/daily schedule would be very informative.
6:30 am – Wake up. After getting used to sleeping until 8:30 or 9 am during the summer, I have to say the struggle is real some days. While I get ready for class, I boil water for some oatmeal. China doesn’t have safe drinking water, so either I boil water or buy bottled water. Breakfast consists of oatmeal and either a banana or orange. Last year I went to the cafeteria every so often, but this year it has been a mess trying to get my meal card. So for now, I make breakfast in my room.
8 am – 15-20 minute walk to the language building. Lots of people from my dorm bike or have motorcycles to get to class. I prefer to walk since there is a lot of foot and car traffic. On campus, there is a middle school that is on the way to the language building. It is great to see all the cute children rushing to school while chattering excitedly with their parents or friends. I have to be extra careful in this zone since bikes, cars, motorcycles, and people are all trying to get through. Being run over is not on my list of top things that I want to happen in the morning. Near the language building there is a store that sells a variety of snacks, beverages, dumplings, buns, etc. Some days I grab a drink from there before walking up to my classroom (fourth floor of the language building).
Mondays & Wednesdays
8:30 am – 10 am – Advanced speaking class (高级口语). This is probably my favorite class. 韩老师 is young and brings energy into the class. She usually has us read short passages that we discuss extensively. Speaking class is probably the class that I most dreaded since I don’t feel confident in my speaking abilities. However, she makes the class fun and relaxed, which has made me feel more relaxed and willing to speak.
10 am – 10:30 am – Break. Lots of the students get out of the language building and just stand around outside or walk down to the corner store to purchase food and drinks. At this time, I’m usually starving so I normally buy dumplings in spicy sauce or 手抓饼 (a crepe-like burrito filled with meat and vegetables). During this time students mingle and chat, which is a great breather from class time.
10:30 am – 12 pm – Advanced Chinese (高级汉语). This is the regular class that I have three days a week. In it, I read long passages, learn 书面语 (words that are only used in written form; never used in the spoken language), complete exercises, learn grammar rules, and do presentations in front of the class.
Tuesdays
8:30 am – 10 am – Linguistics class (汉语语音教程). Easily the hardest class to understand and pay attention during the whole duration of the class. It’s interesting since I’ve taken a Spanish linguistics class, but in Chinese there are many technical linguistics terms that I am unfamiliar with. Therefore, lots of the time I spend looking up words so that I can understand the general meaning of the class. Truthfully, it is an awesome class, I just wish the teacher gave us a handout with the most important terms. That way I could follow along more easily. We have gone through one chapter each class which is pretty fast-paced. I look forward to understanding and learning more about the Chinese language and the inner workings of it.
10 am – 10:30 am – Break. (see above for description)
10:30 am – 12 pm – Advanced Chinese (高级汉语). (see above for description)
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Chinese writing (汉语写作). Probably one of the most useful classes. The professor is the same one for the Advanced Chinese class. She has been great about teaching us tips to improve our sentences and writing. Each class we are assigned a short essay assignment that is due the next week. I’m looking forward to being challenged to be a better writer.
Thursdays
8:30 am – 10 am – Ancient Chinese (古代汉语). I think this class is super interesting. The reason the Chinese language department has us take it is because, it will improve our modern Chinese. During class we read short passages that the professor thoroughly analyzes and explains to us. In this way, we are able to understand the meaning and gain a better understanding of how the ancient Chinese has evolved into the Chinese that we see and speak today. I am excited to learn more in this class, so that I can read and speak better modern Chinese. Plus, it will help if I decide to pursue a masters in Chinese history and literature.
10 am – 10:30 am – Break.
10:30 am – 12:00 pm – Modern Chinese (现代汉语词汇教程). This class has been different than my expectations, since I thought we would be learning a lot of vocabulary and terms that will be useful in the future. Instead, so far it is enforcing abbreviations, four character idioms, monosyllabic vs. bi-syllabic words, etc. After each class our professor gives us a lot of difficult homework to complete by the next week. Even though this class is difficult, I’m glad that I’m being challenged to understand what is being said in class and in the textbook.
Fridays
No class, so I get to sleep in!!! :)
12:30 pm – Lunch. Depending on the day, I might to choose to get some food at the corner store, go around the corner to the small outdoor restaurant (it serves dumplings and noodles), go off campus to one of the many restaurants, or go to the cafeteria (this will probably happen a lot when I finally get my cafeteria card). Honestly, Sichuan University has a great selection of places to eat: from the eight cafeterias, to the food stalls on campus, to the grocery stores on campus, to the stores and restaurants off campus. Food varies from hot pot, other traditional Sichuan-style cuisine, other Chinese food, Japanese food, Vietnamese food, American food, Korean food, etc. Usually I drag my friends with me, so that we can chat while eating.
2 pm – 3 pm – depending on the day and how tired I feel, I’ll sometimes head to my dorm room and nap. Three hours of intensive Chinese really drains my brain power.
3 pm – 5:30 pm – Homework. I try to focus and get my homework done since I usually get assigned a fair amount. Also, I’m currently completing my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification, which approximately takes 15 hours per week to complete the required weekly amount. So, I am plenty busy trying to keep on top of all of my studies. Depending on my mood (aka if I want to haul all my stuff out of my room) I’ll either complete it in my room or at one of my favorite cafes on campus. I enjoy going to either 读蔬记 or My Garden to study and get a bite to eat or something to drink.
5:30 pm – 7 pm – Dinner. Dinner time depends on what I am doing during the day. If I get caught up doing something, I won’t eat until later. Like I said before, I will probably be going to the cafeterias for dinner (but I still don’t have my meal card!). However, for the time being I am going to restaurants outside of the little North gate.
7 pm – 11 pm – Either studying in my dorm room or at a café. Some days I will go work out during this time. My studying usually winds down around this time, and I tend to get more distracted by my phone and social media. If I’ve finished my homework, I will study my Chinese HSK vocab textbook, Chinese terms book, review Chinese grammar and vocab, study Korean or French, blog, write in my journal, look at social media, watch YouTube, and chat with my friends.
11 pm – 12 am – watch TV or YouTube. I have to say, watching YouTube and TV aren’t entirely a waste of brain power since I do watch French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean YouTubers. I tend to watch Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Taiwanese TV shows. Around midnight I go to sleep since I have to be up early the next day.
Obviously, not all of my days are set in stone like this, but this is what a typical day in my life looks like here at Chuanda (Sichuan University). Hopefully this update was interesting, and I’ll try to write more regularly about what’s going on here. Until next time!