In the beginning of the first week, I went to the orientation event. I was overwhelmed by a number of passionate Chinese learners and got excited about the next 8 weeks. I had to sign a language pledge which ensures I only speak/write Chinese in the building. I was not confident whether I would be able to convey my ideas all in Chinese and went back to home.
The next day, I went to school for my first class. I think I got assigned to the level 3 class . Yet, I already knew about 70% of the words in the text book – the school said this situation is normal as ICLP puts emphasis on the speaking part.
After the first class, I spent 6 hours preparing for the fist actual class. The method that I had to use was similar to that at Williams. I listened to the audio and repeated what they were saying until I partially memorized the sentences.
During the Duanwujie on Thursday and Friday of the week, I went to the Dragon boat race and Shida Night market with friends. I first started my words in Chinese when talking to Taiwanese sellers and staffs but could not understand their response so often had to speak English and reveal my inability in speaking Chinese. This made me want to learn Chinese even harder.