This week was my first week back in school in four years! (Of course, I’ve been in scene study class, but, like, going to a University is totally different!)

the main gate/taida/dec 2012

To get everyone up to speed, I am studying Mandarin at the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University. TaiDa (台大), which is what NTU is nicknamed, has a very large + very beautiful campus. It is regarded as the most prestigious University in Taiwan. (I got some dirt on my shoulder, could you brush that off for me?)

a look up royal palm boulevard from the main gate/taida/dec 2012

more of the boulevard/taida/dec 2012

the library/taida/dec 2012

lawn in front of library/taida/dec 2012

Most students in my program get one individual class + 3 group classes. I was not placed in any group classes because I am the only beginner this quarter. Instead, I have two individual classes a day. I am hoping (fingers crossed!!) that I will be able to audit a group class so that I can hear other students speaking the language, figure out the common mistakes for Chinese learners, what’s hard for others, +c.

iclp building!/taida/dec 2012

a.k.a. where i’ll be a lot of the time!/taida/dec 2012

This first week was a short one–just three days. So we used it to review pronunciation + different grammar rules. So far I have only had to memorize 20 characters: 10 per night for the first two days of class. I think I’ve been averaging about 1.5 hours or work to learn each 10 characters. This involves practicing how to write them–i.e. learning the stroke order–learning how to recognize them + memorizing their sounds + tones. I have about 30 to learn this weekend, so I’m sure I’ll split the time between the crib, my various cafes + maybe the school library. I know, fascinating stuff, isn’t it??

Here are some more pictures I took of campus during a nice day we had a couple of weeks ago.

everyone bikes/taida/dec 2012

+ those who don’t bike, scoot!/taida/dec 2012

row of posters advertizing movies + events/taida/dec 2012

a pre-school class on a walk/taida/dec 2012

just beautiful! 很漂亮!/taida/dec 2012

so tall! 太高了! /taida/dec 2012/taida/dec 2012

perfect spot for wedding photos!/taida/dec 2012

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be too jelly… Despite the palm trees, I’m not living a tropical beach life. It’s been mostly grey + rainy these days. But I’m happy to take in the awesome beauty of the campus even in the grey! + anyway, from here on out, my nose will be stuck in some Chinese Dictionary or another…

typical desk dressings/the crib, taipei/jan 2013

practice makes perfect…eventually/the crib, taipei/jan 2013

Jazz has turned out to be great background study music. + I’ve got some more characters to learn. Enjoy.