Chinese!

Not until this past week have I been studying and exposing myself to Chinese. I've been slacking with my Chinese since I got back. I would casually study Chinese here and there. I'm trying to get a lot more serious with preparing for a mission. It's hard preparing for a mission when you're in Hawaii. I just want to play all day long instead of studying. I guess that's a good thing that BYU Hawaii didn't accept me, but BYU Provo accepted me.

I feel like the thing that I need to improve the most is listening comprehension. I feel like Chinese people talk as fast as cheetahs. I pick up words I know here and there, but overall I cannot understand the full meaning of a sentence. That's why I started watching this Taiwanese drama on Hulu. In English it's called "In Time With You." A couple of people suggested that I watch this drama. It's pretty good. I like the dialogue, but I feel like the situations are cliche. I'm only on episode 5 so my opinion might change. This show has definitely been helping me get used to Chinese speech. It's Chinese that you would speak on the streets, so I feel like I have been learning phrases and vocabulary that I never learned in Chinese class that I feel will be useful. The problem is that this is Taiwanese Chinese I'm getting used to. I'm pretty sure a ton of my investigators are going to be from mainland China. I am afraid they are going to think I am talking gibberish. Even my teachers will probably have served in Taiwan, so they'll be teaching us Taiwanese Chinese. I'm sure even though I'll be speaking Taiwanese Chinese, the PRC peeps will be impressed that a Filipino girl can be speaking some sort of Chinese.

I've been reading through the missionary vocabulary book for Mandarin Chinese. To tell you the truth, I have been struggling going through it. I started from the beginning on the first discussion. There would be grammar structures that I would struggle getting a grasp on. I would think, "What the heck? I have never learned this in my Chinese classes!" Ok this is bad! I am starting to sound like those return missionaries who think they should be understanding everything since they lived in Taiwan, but they aren't so they get all mad about it. I just need to find that balance with my Chinese knowledge. I shouldn't be over-confident if those first couple days are easy for me in the MTC, yet I shouldn't be discouraged if they aren't. I just got to learn how to be confident in the Lord guiding me, but with a humble heart.

I started reading a friend's blog from the Jerusalem Center who is now in the MTC. She is going to the Taiwan Taipei mission and she is leaving for the field pretty soon. I want to say she's leaving the beginning of June. I feel like it has been good for me reading how she feels being in the MTC and learning Chinese. It's rather entertaining the experiences she has been having. I feel like I have a better feel about what I am going to expect going into the MTC, especially being a Chinese speaker. I can't believe how long they are going to be teaching us in the classroom. I'm sure I am going to be going crazy a couple times here and there. I turn into a little baby when I get impatient and irritated. I know that being in the classroom for the whole day will transform me into a little brat. My district and teachers and companions are going to get a kick out of me acting like a 5-year-old. It was interesting when she wrote about that they ask two random missionaries every sacrament meeting to go up and give a talk in Chinese. I'll probably be freaking out ever Sunday because they'll be doing that. However, I have had pretty good instincts on knowing when the bishopric is going to ask me to give a talk. Hopefully this gift doesn't fail me while I'm on my mission.

I also saw a picture of her and a number of other sister missionaries that will be going to the Taiwan Taipei mission. I was surprised to know a couple of the sister missionaries in that picture. There was even one girl I had no idea she was going on her mission. I had to go on Facebook to make sure that the girl I saw in the picture was the girl that I was thinking of. It turned out to be her. Her younger sister ended up going to the Taiwan Taichung mission. I feel like out of all of the missions, I know the most people going to the Taiwan Taipei mission. I sometimes wish that I was going to the Taipei, Taiwan mission just so I can be companions with my friends. The girls that I know that will be going to Taipei are some of the neatest girls I have met. I would have loved to have been mission companions with them. I'm sure I'm more suited for the Australia Brisbane mission.