Classes

I think that I'm going to like this new level of Chinese. I am now officially an intermediate-level student. My teachers teach in such a better style than I grew accustomed to last semester. That's not to say I didn't absolutely love it every time my main teacher called me stupid, but I think these new teachers have a better grasp on how to present material and have it stick in my mind.

Let's talk about role reversal, too! Last semester, I felt like I was the dumb one in my class. This feeling was, of course, heightened by my main teacher calling me stupid constantly (yes, I am bitter about that.). However, on the first day of my reading class, my new teacher held me up as an example of what people can achieve with their speaking skills! I was so confused. I thought I spoke really, really badly. I mean, I still don't speak well, but I'm not the dumb one!

It probably seems like I'm dwelling a bit on class intelligence/success ranking, and that's because I am. I thought I got past most of that seeming important to me when I was still in the states, but coming here brought it all back. Last semester, I really struggled with this, actually. My skill set wasn't what was stressed in my classes last semester, and with the way my main teacher treated me in class, I thought it was a completely useless skill set here. I wasn't expecting to be the best person in my class here - that doesn't even exist - but I wasn't expecting to be as low as I was. For someone who gets told for a lifetime that he or she is above average/gifted/etc. and begins to take that for granted, the kind of situation I had last semester is a serious blow. I had myself convinced that I was never going to get this language because I was too stupid.

I'm not stupid, though, and I think I'm going to be able to learn really well in this new enviroment. The classes are going to be hard, and their homework is going to take up most of the hours of my day, but I think they're going to help me progress in a very noticeable way.