The Past 6 Months….

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I can’t believe I’ve been home for 6 months!  I’ve done so much and spent time with so many great people!

When I got home from China my parents’ garage was full of all my belongings that had been sitting in storage in LA.  So we had a garage sale!  It was such a freeing experience.  I recommend it!

Thanksgiving was soooo delicious.

My sister Julie got engaged while I was gone!  She married Josh in a cute little chapel on 12/12/12.  It was really fun to meet Josh’s family and see some of my relatives.

One of my saddest days in China was Christmas the previous year so having Christmas at home with my family was truly a special day this year.

After 3.5 months I was still hanging out at home so I did something no Fischer has ever done before. I went on tour with my dad and his Wind Symphony.  We traveled on a bus to Indiana, Alabama, Ohio, and North Carolina for 10 days.  It was nice to spend time with my dad and so awesome to see him at work.

After 4 months of not doing much (not complaining!) I started working again.  I spent a couple weeks in Los Angeles and then 6 weeks in Charlotte, NC.  I worked on a reality show for WEtv.   It was good being back in production, seeing people I hadn’t seen for years, and making some new friends.  A high point of the job was hiding from the cameras in a bathroom at a club.

On my way back to Chicago I stopped in Boston to visit my high school friend Sara. Yoga, sushi, mani / pedi’s, sleeping in, and catching up was all we did for 2 days and it was perfect.

Mother’s Day!

I should write a whole blog post about my high school friend Eleanor.  Living only miles away from her was so comforting and special.  She also has the most beautiful inspiring family!

My friend of 25 years – Alison -and her husband Steve had their 3rd child- Maddock -while I was home.  I was honored to become his godmother!   Another beautiful family!

One of the best parts of the past 6 monts was living at home a majority of the time.  My parents spoiled me and never seemed to mind having me around (all the time) and driving their cars.  Thanks mom and dad!

On May 20th I leave for China with my parents.  My dad’s Wind Symphony will be playing concerts and touring for 10 days. My parents have been to China before and of course I have been there but we’ve never been there together.  After the first 10 days I’ll make my way back to Xi’an and then to a town a few hours north. I’ll be spending the summer there promoting a new school for Aston English Schools.  It’s a small city and will be a completely different experience.  The good news is if it’s really difficult and lonely it’s only for 3 months and not far from Xi’an.

美国再见，中国你好！

8 Tips for Traveling In China

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DSCN2456China can definitely be a fun and interesting place to travel.  Their culture is so different from our Western culture.  I love the differences and tried to embrace them as much as I could.

Here are some tips and suggestions I wish I had known before traveling in China:

1.  Carry little packages of kleenex everywhere.  You will not find toilet paper in the bathrooms or napkins in most restaurants.  I caught a cold when I first got to China and my mom asked if I could even buy kleenex.  She had visited China before and saw how they blow their nose – in the air.  A handful of times I’ve been caught right next to an air blower at just the right time.  Yuck. So that leads to #2….

2.  Carry hand sanitizer and wet wipes.  If you want to wash your hands in the bathroom there will be water but there won’t be soap or towels.  I found it easier to wash my hands at the table with wet wipes.  Hand sanitizer is nice to have around because you never know what you’re touching.  You don’t see Chinese people using sanitizer or wet wipes so there’s a good chance they’re not washing their hands very often.  With the spitting and lack of soap China is crawling with germs.

3.  Buy or bring a reusable water bottle.  This is an especially good tip in the winter when heat isn’t often used.  It’s nice to have a hot water bottle to put your hands around and hot water to drink.  Hot water is everywhere.  You can even fill your bottle up in the bank.   I think a water bottle is as much a fashion accessory as an umbrella.  I’ve even asked for water at the bar so don’t be shy.  You’ll fit right in!

4.  Women – tampons are hard to find!  Bring extra.

P10404555. Chinese trains.  I wish this was a convenient way to get around China for travelers.  It’s great for people that live in China but I’ve met lots of frustrated travelers.  The first problem is they start selling tickets 14 days before.  So, if you want to travel January 10th, you are in line buying your ticket first thing on January 1st.  This makes it hard for travelers who want to plan months in advance. I met a couple in Chengdu who couldn’t get anywhere. All the trains were booked for days and they didn’t want to spend money on a flight.  I think if you know this before your trip it’s much easier to cope but I don’t think people know.  The 2nd problem is that the people selling the tickets usually don’t speak English.  So it’s best to buy tickets at the train station in a big city because your chances of meeting English is much better. Or having someone book it from your hostel is usually another good option.  Otherwise train travel is quite comfortable if you’re able to book a hard sleeper.  It’s a great way to travel around China.

6.  If you don’t know any Chinese learn how to communicate without using words. In touristy areas some people speak some English.  But overall English is not common. I consider communicating without words to be a skill but one that’s easy to pick up with a little practice.  Pointing at things or at phrase books works very well.  If you’ve traveled before you probably know exactly what to do.  Have some fun with it!  Don’t see it as a burden – it’ll only hold you back.

P10105757.  Eating can be a fun challenge.   They WILL help you.  Someone will.  If you find you’re not being treated with kindness go to the next restaurant.  There are lots of the same restaurants and they are usually run by patient(ish) people.  I have however been treated without patience and there is nothing worse – especially when someone else is working next door and would be more than happy to make sure you’re eating what you want to eat.  If no English is spoken look at what other people are eating next to you and point to something that looks good.  Or go to the kitchen and point to stuff.  Most importantly be open and try whatever comes to your table.  I enjoyed playing menu roulette!  P1010629

8.  The Chinese push and cut in line. Every stereotype you’ve heard is probably true.  You need to have patience and accept that this is not your country.  If you let it anger you it will only ruin your trip.  Keep this quote in mind – “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman

A few bonus tips and facts!

*Fresh brewed coffee is hard to find and expensive.

*Don’t tip.

*Eat meat with caution – ESPECIALLY in the summer time.

*If you see this in the park-that’s park dating for parents looking to marry off their child.P1040438

*Babies don’t wear diapersP1010768

*Everyone spits everywhere.

*Keep a business card with your hotel written in Chinese characters on you for taxis.

*Don’t get scammed in Beijing!

*Beware of firecrackers!

*Toilets might look like this - DSCN2326

Most importantly have fun and embrace China! Let me know if you have any questions. I’d love to help!

Best Stuff I Read All Week – February 17th, 2013

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P1000022

I read a lot of great stuff this week and wanted to share it.

How to Say ‘Yes’ to Life – ‘In the words of Jon Kabat Zinn, “you put out the welcome mat” on your life.‘  That sums it up perfectly.  Feeling my emotions, making the choice to be happy, and saying YES to life are three ways I’ve changed for the better in the past year.

Worth Remembering  - This is about a girl who returned to America from China and what she wanted to keep in her life after returning.  There are many parts of this I felt like I could have written.  I especially love the part when she talks about how free she felt in China.  ‘Most of this liberty stems from the freedom we gain when we let go of fear, listen and act on our hearts’ true desires, and stop worrying so much about what other people think.’  This is a feeling I also had in China but never quite realized it enough to voice.  It is something I hope I keep in my life in America.

Lindsay’s Thai Pineapple Curry –   This was one of the best meals I had this week.  No animal products or gluten (I used gluten free soy sauce) and sooooo yummy!

Differences Between Chinese Men and Laowai Foreign Men  - China Smack is doing a 3 part series on this topic.  I have always found foreign guy / Chinese girl relationship interesting.  The author is a bit general with his research but it’s hard to deny that a majority I’ve found to be true with my own personal experiences and people I know.

Where to place 一点儿 (yī diǎnr) in a sentence - This was a nice review.   Also this video: How to Say Although and But in Chinese.  Cute!

What did you read this week that’s worth sharing?

My New Way of Studying 汉语

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My study ‘method’ has become a bit stale.

I’ve been working on the Sensible Character Learning Challenge.  I made it through all the words on HSK lists 1-3.  So I can write them and know the meaning but probably can’t use them in a sentence very well.  Is that really progress?   Since my goal was to be able to write them then yes I think it’s progress. But I also feel like if I want my fluency to progress I need a new plan.

Peckish Laowai’s blog has helped me open up to different ways of studying.  I’ve been very set in my ways since going to University because I found a system of memorizing that works for me.  I ended up with a B+ / A in all my classes but my speaking really didn’t improve.  Having a one on one tutor has helped but I still want to take it a step further.

I’ve found quite a few ideas online recently and I’m taking it as a sign to change my ways.  I’m using many of Yearlyglot’s ideas.

This is my new plan!  Comment below to let me know what you think.

Character Writing

I will continue to work on Pleco.  I have gotten through HSK lists 1-3.  There are about 70 words I banned.  I’ll focus on those.  I won’t spend MOST of my time working on this. This will become only a small part of my studying.

Listening

Pop Up Chinese has podcasts that are quite good.  There’s a dialogue that you listen to multiple times and in between there’s an English speaker and a Chinese speaker breaking it down.

I’m searching for another podcast that’s only in Chinese and not too difficult.  I welcome suggests.

Movies and TV Shows

Recently I watched 人在囧途。I enjoyed that the Chinese could make fun of themselves. There are some hilarious airport scenes.  It took me a while to get through because my listening needs some work so I would pause and read the subtitles (and look up words in the dictionary).  Next I want to watch the 2nd one. I heard it just hit the internet.

I started watching the TV show 奋斗.  I find it more challenging than 人在囧途.  But hopefully I can keep pushing through.

I like Growing Up With Chinese that CCTV has put out on their website.  I started back at #1 and I’m working my way through all 100.  They’re short and I don’t watch the character part. It takes me less than 10 minutes an episode and it’s a wonderful review.

Reading

I’m reading the Chinese Breeze series.  I started at the beginner level and I’m glad I did. The vocabulary isn’t too difficult but since this is my first book it’s nice to be able to understand the story, for the most part, without stopping all the time.  Right now I’m reading Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!  It’s about a girl that commits suicide so it seems the story lines tend to be a bit dark.   That being said it keeps me interested.  This is a nice review of the Chinese Breeze books.  I bought it for the Kindle and it was less than $4.  Not bad!

Sentence Mining

Alan at FluentU writes ‘Sentence mining is studying a language by collecting, saving, and reviewing sentences. This is in contrast to a more typical approach of memorizing words individually.’

I’ve been doing my own version of this by adding a sentence to the vocabulary flashcard I’m learning.  It helps but I think this makes a lot more sense. I’ve read a lot of good posts about it and it seems to be quite a hot topic right now.

My favorite post is How to Sentence Mine and SRS For Mandarin? written by Peckish Laowai.  It’s very complete and links to other articles.  Definitely check it out if you’re interested in this way of studying.

Speaking

I have my tutor on Skype for 2 hours each week.  Sometimes we also chat on Weixin or Weibou.   I know I could use some more time speaking though.  I’m going to write emails to my Chinese friends back in China and MAYBE find someone local to speak with.

I have also started a blog on Lang-8.  It’s a great way to get native speaker feedback.  I put up a short one to see if anyone would respond and help me out.  2 people made corrections almost immediately.  I think this is a very useful tool that I hope I’ll stay motivated to use.

Here are some other websites I find to be incredibly helpful and supportive – and FUN!

Study More Chinese is fantastic.  There is a great variety of discussions, videos, daily Chinese sentences, cultural information, groups, etc.  Everyone’s really friendly and it feels like a small community of people all trying to learn this language.

FluentU I LOVE this site. I don’t spend nearly enough time on it.  You watch a video that has English and Chinese subtitles. Then you can choose to learn the vocabulary with the same video and other videos. It’s kind of like sentence mining LIVE.  It’s also very interactive.  Check it out! They are always trying new things and ways to make the site better.

What study methods have I missed? Any other advice?

Chinese Character Challenge Update

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It’s been 17 days since I started the challenge.

My goal is to review / relearn all the words on HSK Lists 1 to 3 in one month.  This is a total of 568 words.  While I’m studying I want to pay particular attention to rule #1 of the challenge  -  ‘If you fail a review, you’re not allowed to review that card again until you’ve dealt with it actively. You have two options: either you stop reviewing and deal with the failed card immediately or you remove the card from the review card and deal with it later’.

I haven’t studied as hard on the HSK lists as I would have liked to. But I have studied for my Chinese class and watched (slowly) a movie – 人在囧途- has anyone seen it?

I am coming along though. I’m finished with HSK 1 and 2.  I have put aside 37 words that I forgot so I’ll go back and work on those. I’ve moved onto HSK 3 which is a bit more difficult so I’m sure I’ll be spending the remaining 13 days on it.

I’ve decided not to use Skritter. I have Pleco all setup the way I like it.  I’ve used it for countless hours and it works for me.

Overall, I think I’ve done pretty well.  It has been a matter of reviewing a lot and going back to take care of characters that always give me trouble.  If I put in the time this isn’t a difficult task but it’s great to have the challenge to keep me working and accountable.

If you’re doing the challenge – how’s it going? Have you seen 人在囧途?

12 Things I Appreciate After Living In China

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In Chicago with my brother and sister.

In Chicago with my brother and sister.

When I was in China there wasn’t much I missed about America except for my friends and family.  Now that I’m back there are 11 things I can appreciate so much more after living without them – even the trivial things.

Taking a shower with clean water

Maybe American water isn’t perfect but at least we can drink it and not get sick.  It’s nice to bathe in clean water!

A pot of coffee

I love the smell of coffee brewing.  China doesn’t.

Blending into the crowd

It’s really great to walk down the street and not get stared at. It’s even nicer to walk down the street alone without millions of people doing the same thing.  I don’t miss the constant flow of people who wanted to practice their English or wanted to take a photo with me.  I really like that no one shouts ‘hellooo’ at me.

Clean air

There have been quite a few cloudy days while I’ve been home but it’s not because of pollution.  It’s so refreshing to go outside and breath clean air.  There’s also not a coat of dust over everything.

Friendly people

This was one of the biggest things I noticed when I came back.  At first I felt like it was very fake and of course some of it is.  But now it’s really nice to see people being friendly not just to me but to each other.  It was rare to see this in China. I know that if I’m in trouble someone will help me. I never felt this in China.  When I saw people in trouble bystanders either walked right past or stopped and stared.

No internet censoring

I like my freedom when it comes to watching YouTube, reading news stories and blogs, Tweeting, or using Facebook.

Clothes shopping

I’ve learned to live with less.  My time in China taught me that and I hope I keep this in my life.  But it’s nice to have choices when buying clothes.  In China all the clothes are made for Chinese people. Their bodies are completely different than ours.  Their feet are smaller.  It was so hard to find clothes I liked and fit.

Clean streets

There are no pooping children (or adults)!  I don’t have to make sure I’m watching where I step at all times.  There’s no puke next to the trees.  Of course there’s some litter around but mostly it is REALLY clean here. You can even be fined for littering!  Cleanliness in general is something to be appreciated.  Especially public restrooms.  I can’t believe I used to think public restrooms in America were dirty.  I had no idea how dirty bathrooms could be.

The quiet

There are no fireworks in the middle of the night.  There is no construction.  There are no honking cars. It is quiet and peaceful.

Being a pedestrian

This always bothered me in China.  Pedestrians have no right of way – not even on the sidewalks.  I can’t believe more people don’t get hit by speeding motos on the sidewalk.  I love to walk but sometimes in China it was just too stressful!

Good smells

The biggest smell that I love in America are the people.  Everyone washes their clothes and themselves on a daily basis.  It makes a big difference.  People also wear cologne or perfume.

I love the smell of clothes drying in the drier.  I had forgotten about this smell but appreciate the fresh and clean smell so much more.

I LOVE not smelling bathrooms everywhere.  It was especially hard living with that smell.  They haven’t figured out the S shaped pipes yet so the smell comes right back up.

No Smoking

Though there is a law you can’t smoke inside no one ever obeys.  It’s nice to come home from a bar, cafe, restaurant, or even off the elevator and not smell like smoke.  I also appreciate being surrounded by people who are considering their health and the health of their neighbors when making choices.

Of course there must be things I like about China if I lived there for almost 2 years.  This same list is what kept me there.  I like the differences and could often smile at them.  I’m sure I could go back to China and be fine but right now I need America for a little longer.

What do you appreciate about your home country?

Chinese Character Challenge

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P1000182Hacking Chinese (my new favorite Chinese website) launched a challenge that I’ve decided to participate in.

I’m usually pretty good with challenges like these because there are people holding me accountable and if I have a clear goal I can stay on track.  Since I’m home, without a lot of money, and waiting for my visa to go back to China, this seemed like a perfect time for a challenge.

My goal

In one month I will review all the words on HSK Lists 1 to 3.  This is a total of 568 words.  I want to spend at least an hour everyday studying.  I want to make sure I follow Olle’s rules for the challenge.  Especially rule #1 -  ‘If you fail a review, you’re not allowed to review that card again until you’ve dealt with it actively. You have two options: either you stop reviewing and deal with the failed card immediately or you remove the card from the review card and deal with it later’. In the past I have moved cards I’ve forgotten to new lists.  What I didn’t do was try to learn it again by thinking up a new mnemonic device or learn the component parts.  I’m excited about trying this method.

Is this realistic?

During my semester at Jiao Tong University I learned these characters.  Unfortunately many have disappeared.  I was trying to learn too many at one time.  Sometimes I had 30 new words to learn every night.  We moved quickly and as a beginner it took longer for the characters and strokes to stick.  Now I’m able to learn new characters much quicker.  I also haven’t used them or reviewed them very often since the semester ended.

My method

I started using Skritter but I’ve been using Pleco for so long it’s hard making the switch.  I enjoy the freedom to write in Pleco.  I can practice and write over and over if I need to.  photo

I will continue to try Skritter for 2 weeks but even with the discount I’m not sure I want to pay $10 / month.  I do see some benefits to Skritter and since I’ve only used it for a couple days I shouldn’t judge it yet.  Stay tuned….

Before I start I’m going to go through the lists on Pleco and delete ones I absolutely, 100% use and remember.  你，我，八，是，etc.

Why is writing important to me?

I get this question a lot.  ‘Isn’t speaking more important?’  Sure, speaking is important and one of my biggest weaknesses (I am in desperate need of a grammar challenge).  But I really like writing.  It’s enjoyable, relaxing, and provides immediate rewards.  It feels amazing to be able to write a character I couldn’t write when I started.  It also helps my reading.  I’ve noticed that I can read the characters much better that I’ve learned to write than the ones I don’t know how to write. Many characters have only a small difference from one to another. If you’ve never studied Chinese you probably wouldn’t be able to recognize the differences.

Other ways I’ll be studying

I won’t only be concentrating on writing for the next month.  I will still have my tutor every week.  I would also like to go back and review grammar basics.  For listening I’ll be watching movies (especially short ones on FluentU) and listening to Pop Up Chinese.

After this month

I’d like to start on the HSK 4 list but I need to see where I’m at with my studying first.  During this challenge I will still be working with my tutor every week and learning new words with her. After this challenge I hope to be back at University and I’ll probably need to focus on all the new vocabulary since it moves so quickly.

I’m excited about this challenge.  This is just the push I need to get back into it! 加油！

Ways I’ve Changed-For the Worse

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When people live or travel abroad they often write about how they’ve changed. Usually it’s about the good ways in which they’ve changed. I’d like to look at the ways I’ve changed for the worse since moving to China.

Pushing

It would be hard to survive in China without pushing. The Chinese push if you’re blocking their way, on the bus, in the supermarket, waiting in line, everywhere. When I went to Hong Kong recently I noticed that was I still pushing and invading the personal space of other people even though the people of Hong Kong don’t behave like this. I was shocked. This isn’t how I was raised. Though I’ve definitely become more patient in many ways I’ve also become less patient in some situations – just like the Chinese.

Talking loudly

It doesn’t matter if I’m swearing, talking about sex, using harsh words, talking about the person sitting right behind me, or anything else inappropriate for a public conversation- I say it without lowering my voice. 95% of the time no one understands English in China. Of course there are those times when someone can understand a bit but if I’m with friends we’re usually speaking pretty quickly.

Walking with my head down

The staring can still get on my nerves but it used to really get on my nerves and so I started walking with my head down. Not all the time but if I’m passing a lot of people I’ve noticed myself doing it. I’m not doing this intentionally so I have a feeling it will be a hard habit to break.  It’s also not a very friendly way to walk through life.  I hope I can overcome this and learn to smile when someone is staring at me.

Speaking English

I speak using very simple English. I don’t notice when I’m speaking slowly, I only notice when I’m able to speak at my normal speed.  I didn’t realize a skill you pick up when you’re living abroad is how to speak to people whose native language is not English. I never thought of it as a skill but it’s definitely a good one to pick up especially when you’re traveling or teaching English.

I don’t think any of these changes are necessarily bad, especially since I’m aware and need them to survive in China.  Now that I’ve been home for 6 weeks they have luckily disappeared.  I’ve blended right back into America, it’s like I didn’t even leave.  It’ll be interesting to see if I can blend right back into China when I return.

How have you changed since moving or traveling abroad?

I Love Bangkok

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I LOVE Bangkok.  Maybe one day I’ll live there!  It is a bit like my favorite city – Hong Kong - but much cheaper.

We had breakfast on the beach for Linda’s birthday and an amazing fish dinner that evening in Bangkok.  She picked out the fish she wanted and they cooked it for us.  Seriously, this was the best fish I’ve ever had.

On our last day we spent a few hours shopping at the Paragon and MBK.  You must visit these places if you go to Bangkok.  The Paragon is basically a fancy mall with lots of international shops.  We went there to visit H&M and UNIQLO.  Then we walked to MBK.  This is where you want to go for gifts.  It’s huge and has everything – DVDs, iPad/phone/pod covers, electronics, candles, clothes, bags, candy, home decor, journals, spices, etc.  We bought LOTS and then went back to the hostel to pack.

It was impossible not to compare Thailand and China.  Thailand is definitely more civilized than China.  It’s cleaner, people speak English, and it just feels more like the western way we’re used to (maybe I had been in China too long?).  There are so many places to see and cities / islands to travel to.

There are more western toilets than in China but we came across a very nice squat toilet at the bus station.  They even had sandals to change into. They’re so clean in Thailand!

I left Bangkok at night and flew 5 hours to Tokyo. I had 4 hours to spend in the airport and I was off on an 11 hour flight to Chicago.  The journey home felt like it was over so quickly.  I didn’t have to sit next to anyone on either flight.  Then after 21 months abroad I was HOME!

 

 

Amazing food in Thailand

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Everything I saw to consume in Thailand looked good – and fresh.  Even their fried bugs were some how appetizing (though I didn’t try them).

These are some of my favorites:

The juice!  They have fresh juice everywhere.  It’s either in bottles like this:

Or you can tell them what you want and they’ll make it fresh for you.

Curry vegetables, tofu, and rice.  One of my favorites!  Eaten on the side of the street in the rain.

Egg rolls.  These are similar to what we eat in the west as Chinese food.  They’re cut up and a delicious snack!

Pancakes!  You might remember we also ate them on the beach on Koh Samet.  They taste equally as good in the city or on the beach.  This one was banana and condensed milk.

Coffee was everywhere and such a treat!  Coffee is hard to find in China.

More curry with tofu and vegetables, vegetables with noodles, and vegetables with rice.  (Yes, we ate a lot of vegetables and not a lot of meat.)

Spicy papaya salad and of course curry tofu with vegetables.  We saw the neighbor across the street fetch a papaya for our salad.

I have to mention Linda’s birthday dinner again since it was my favorite meal in Thailand.  Fish, mozzarella salad, vegetables and tofu, and sparkling wine.    Amazing!

My last meal in Thailand was pad thai and an egg roll.