Trying to study Chinese... worried over my neck and shoulder

I have been trying to study my Chinese more, but it is a tough language. The tones are so crucial and the people here just are not accustomed to forgiegners mauling their language the way we are in the states. They have no practice here of trying to listen and understand what you might be saying. You have to get it right or you are lost. So I am studying the written lagugae now, figuring I can pick up some characters and at least write down what I need. Of course that is more involved than the spoken language for me. I know around 50 characters maybe, but I cannot do anything with them. So I am studying radicals and characters with some books I bought and a huge new dictionary. I spent all night writing four radicals over and over. Okay, not all night, but an hour or so. I have to give it some time and see where it leads. I have a children's book I am trying to translate one character at a time. All I know so far is that a little girl filled up a bag of candy and sat down by a river and is eating them one piece at a time, and a fish appears and talks to her, but I do not know what he says yet. My goal is to read and then write the story in Chinese. Not referring to pinyin while I rewrite and recite the story later. It is a short little story but I can see spending a month or two on it. I have to refer to the radical dictionary over and over, but I am memorizing some parts of the characters faster now. I filled up a couple pages of grid paper with characters earlier. I have no idea how to learn a language and all I am doing is taking some of the things I have learned about teaching English as  a Second Language and have turned them around on myself. Maybe I can begin some classes soon. I have heard a rumor the school will offer them free in a week or two. It just seems like a good and positive thing to do. A big challenge. Yea, thats what I need. Another big challenge.

My shoulder, neck and arm still hurt so bad. I am not sure what to do about it. I guess I could try a doctor. I am just not sure you know. I did run into a Dr I trusted when I had my flu a month ago. He spoke some Englsih too. I just am worn out form the pain all the time. Like Bruce Lee side kicked me in the shoulder blades a couple times.

8:32 PM - 11/3/2005 - post comment

good luck

I have been here in Taiwan for 10 months and am still feelinf culture shock, the air quality goes to shit here in the winter because there is no rain. The air is so unhealthy, sometimes you have to question how pollution could get this bad! What kind of slave-like mentality created this mess, where people function more like robots than creatures of the Earth. This is a place where a 60 hour work week is not uncommon - working so hard to produce, produce, produce - it is such a different mentality at home. I will never take clean air and water for granted ever again.....Sorry for the bitch session, it just had to come out. I comend you on your task of learning Chinese, it is a very difficult language to learn. The best way is memory, just memorize.

groovedaddy - 8:20 PM - 11/4/2005

What's going on here?

No blog entry for days? What's up here? You better have a masterpiece posted soon.

Anonymous - 12:52 AM - 11/10/2005