Update #43 – Two months in Taiwan

April 9/13 – I just finished my mid-term exam so I figured it’s a good time to send another update since I am starting to get emails asking how Deon and I are doing.

We both continue to love the people, the food, the city and our schools.  I am falling in love with the Chinese language more than ever.  I am determined to be able to READ and TYPE simple Chinese by the time I leave Taiwan.  I have never studied this hard all my life.   Six weeks ago, I was #7 in my class (Oh, there were only 7 students in total) because everyone else had done the first 3 levels prior but since I do speak some Mandarin, I went right into this intermediate level instead.  However the result is that because I missed the basic pin-yin and I cannot read many of the Chinese characters, it was very hard for me to study and learn starting from book #4, the level 2 of the intermediate level book.

But I was very determined to be top 3 in my class instead of the last by the time I get to the final exams on May 24/13 so I took an hour of private lesson ($15/hr only) each day to work on my pinyin on the first 3 weeks on top of self-training on an app called “trainchinese,” a flashcard system of training, at home every day.  While preparing for the mid-term exams, I was actually studying for 8 hours a day for 5 days straight last week.  And the result of that was I got 100% on my oral test and 98% on the written exam.  Honestly, I didn’t think it was humanly possible to be in school for 4 hours a day and still be studying for another 8 hours afterwards.  But I did it and the results due to the efforts I put in really boosted my self-esteem, resulting in me feeling amazingly awesome!!  Another perfect example of “if you have a will, you will find a way”!

During this whole process, I discovered a deeper level of appreciation for Kel and all other full time students who are studying hard.  I also felt regrets for quitting the Sunday Chinese school back then plus I regret not having forced my kids harder to continue learning Chinese when they were younger too…. Oh well, not gonna cry over spilled milk now.  I am confident that if and when they see the value I see in this language and the passion I have for learning it, then they will find their path to learning it too someday, just like me today… It’s never too late to learn anyway!!

Our days go by so quickly here.  We get up at 7am, have breakfast then I send Deon to school at 7:30.  Shower time for me, then leave home at 9am for my class.  I get back at 2pm and Deon gets home by 4:30.  We both will be doing our homework until dinner time.  We live 30 steps away from the Shida night market so tons of food choices everyday. Then Deon has regular online class at 8pm daily , then he goes to bed at 9:30pm. On Sundays, we go out with Paul to check out different parts of the city.  On average of 1-3 times a week, I go and check out the many different karaoke clubs with my landlord and her friends. I don’t remember ever having had a lifestyle as routinely organized as this in the past.  But surprisingly, I actually quite enjoy it.  Of course, I do feel extra warm and bonded with Deon these days too… 🙂

I am still keeping my fingers crossed for Deon to want to come back to Taiwan for another year with me this September instead of going to the boarding school.  But I have great doubt that he will choose that therefore I won’t come back alone cause I still want to be home on the weekends to see him.  But in a few years, when he is a bit more mature then I will come back here for sure to live and learn more Chinese.  I must be an old soul from here…  I feel so connected and a huge sense of belonging in this city… 🙂

We changed our ticket to go home to June 17/13 instead of April 17/13.

I really don’t have any plans for September yet and I am not stressed about it either. I just want to enjoy this last part of my 2 year journey with Deon for now and learn as much Mandarin as I can while I am here.

Originally posted in Amy’s travel blog: TravelwithAmy.ca