I stopped speaking Cantonese to people here in China a couple of months ago. I was tired of hearing false praise about how good I was and now perfectly I speak. That was a mistake. I became so rusty that even my closest friends, who normally have no trouble understanding me, were giving me looks of utter despair! These past few days, though, I’ve spent speaking and trying to get my mouth accustomed to the ole gwongdungwa!

Another mistake was to stop listening to Cantonese dialogues, movies, and songs on a daily basis. I used to listen to between 3 – 4 hours a day. Now I let the “I have no time” argument overthrow my regimen. Even though I know that it’s just an excuse.

So, to get back into the studying, I bought two of the four great classics of Chinese literature, 西遊記 (Journey to the West) and 水滸傳 (Outlaws of the Marsh). This summer holiday will be spent (trying to) devouring them! I’m going to read through even if I don’t understand every little detail. I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two! They are enormous books! Very intimidating, but I really want to read them! 加油