星期六 二月三号

大家好，

We have officially started Chinese 201. Classes are for 10 weeks, 2 hours a week. Myself and a handful of others have continued through 101-103 and chosen to stick with it. I don't know enough about the stats for the school but it seems that many people lose interest before they get to the point we are at. I've enjoyed getting to know fellow travelers who are on the same quest.

This week we were joined by two gentlemen who are interested in the class. It's interesting to see what new people will add to the experience. Last semester we had a Korean 小姐 who was very bold and was not afraid to speak up in class. It was great! It certainly helped me speak up. She now teaches a Korean class at the same time so she is not able to join us any longer.

We reviewed the first half of Lesson 九 and added a few vocab to the previously assigned list:

东西 dong1xi = things, objects
要 yao4 = to want to, to have a desire for
钱 qian2 = money
多少 duo1shao = how much, how many
百 bai3 = 100

We discussed the differences between 想 xiang3 = (to like, a personal wish, also meaning to miss someone) and 喜欢 xi3huan1 = (to like), and 要 yao4 = (to want) and 需要 xu1yao4 = (want, in the sense of needing something).

I noted that 想 was somewhere between 要 and 喜欢.

Earlier in the week I asked Kai to bring in his brush and ink to write some characters on a thank you cards we are sending to the adoption agency we are working with. Once he was done with the cards he asked if I would like my name written out, which of course I did. As always I was amazed at the beauty of the characters and mesmerized watching him write. Here is a scan of my name: