This is my post for my sixth week of classes at ICLP. This week, I learned how to describe the weather and compare the weather patterns of different places, popular culture, and the Chinese idiom 骑虎难下. Something that I have noticed at ICLP is that my textbooks frequently feature vocabulary or grammar points that I have learned in the past. I have actually found this overlap to be quite helpful because it serves as a valuable review for content that I haven’t explicitly covered in a long time. Additionally, the amount of new content is, naturally, greater than the familiar content, so I still wrap up every day knowing I’m learning something new.
On Thursday, ICLP hosted various Language Missions, which were fun activities planned in many places around Taiwan. I participated in a dessert-making Language Mission; for this, I learned how to make pineapple cakes, a traditional Taiwanese dessert, and I also learned about several aspects of traditional Chinese culture, including traditional holidays, birthday activities, and marriage customs. From the desserts I made to the traditional marriage clothes I got to try on, every part of the experience was enriching and memorable.