It’s hard to believe that midterms are next week—it’ll mark the halfway point! I think this week was unfortunately a little more discouraging than the last. I felt like my brain was having a tough time processing all the grammar and all that I’ve learned. It became particularly frustrating when I would know what a teacher was asking, what vocab and grammar structure I should use, but just couldn’t formulate it in a coherent sentence. I suppose that’s just whats pushing me and forcing me to figure out a way to formulate something regardless. On the brighter side, I think I’ve lost my sense of shame when it comes to speaking the language, which I’m particularly proud of, because it doesn’t mean that I think I’m proficient enough in the language to speak to anyone, but instead just means I’m more comfortable making mistakes and learning from them. For example, there’s this coffee shop on campus that I go to quite regularly, and always order the same thing. At first I was super embarrassed to order, especially because I had to Pleco what certain characters were. But now, I kind of just got used to saying it and not feeling embarrassed if they correct me. If I’m being honest with myself, I feel like I’m not putting all of the effort I could be giving in, so my new goal for this week is to try shifting some study habits around, and better organizing my time instead of having rough ideas of how I’ll spend my time.
Pic: Made dumplings with my Chinese host family!
