This week, I mostly took it easy and spent a lot of time thinking about how my experience with learning Chinese in Taiwan compares to learning it back in the states. The biggest difference is that in Taiwan, everyday and anytime is an opportunity for me to step out into the world and immediately practice my skills. While this is an amazing opportunity, it can also cause easy burnout. It is difficult not being able to always explain what you need, and feeling like your language skills are inadequate at times is also inevitable. This week I started adding little habits to my daily routine to supplement the learning I’m doing at school without adding more burdens to myself.
For instance, I brought my nintendo switch with me and have been playing Pokémon in Chinese.
Pokémon (寶可夢）
As a reading-heavy game, this gives me the chance to read more in Chinese as well as build my vocabulary. It is also a nice way to de-stress after a busy and tiring day at school. Another habit I have started to do is listening to the local news more often. Even if I’m not actively paying attention to what is being said, I like to have the TV playing in the background while I do homework so have constant audio input.
It is important to take care of yourself while also making the most of the resources at your disposal!
Pet my first Shiba Inu ever! They are super common here in Taiwan and are called 柴犬 cháiquǎn in Chinese