Learning a new language is always challenging, especially when you are neither a complete beginner nor an advanced speaker. ICLP teachers always try their best to make students freely express their own opinions or share their relevant experiences in the classroom, but I often realize that there are so many things that I want to share but do not know how to in Chinese. It already has been two years since I started to learn Chinese, but sometimes I find myself not knowing how to say very simple sentences, such as “can I get some tissues?”, in Chinese. At the end of the spring semester, Zhang Laoshi told us learning a language is like learning an instrument. It needs some time and patience, and what is most important in learning a new language is consistency. When I just started to learn Chinese about two years ago, I could instantly feel the improvement after each class. At this point, however, it is sometimes hard to tell whether I’m improving or not. Whenever it feels like my improvement is slow, I will remind myself what Zhang Laoshi told us.
Also, my friend visited me from Korea. We went to Shilin night market, Yehliu Geopark, Ximen station, and Jiufen together. If she had not been here, I probably would not have gone to Yehliu Geopark or Jiufen since they are both too far away from Taipei city, and it is hard to find time in the middle of busy studying. Since both places, especially Jiufen, were full of tourists, and I could sometimes hear the Korean language more than the Chinese language there, they were not the perfect places to experience Taiwanese people’s authentic everyday lifestyle. However, I highly recommend visiting those places at least once in Taiwan since the sceneries were so beautiful.