i gave up Polish completely. it's difficult and there's no motivation - other than the fact that i look like an idiot using all kinds of body language to communicate that i want my beef cut thinner. and you know me, i can live with that. i have no shame.
so i turned my attention to wanting to learn mandarin. mostly because i want the kids to learn. i'm ashamed that my children speak only 1 language when between the two of us we speak 4 languages fluently. now, that's a shame. so if i had to pick a lanugage, it would be chinese. but not cantonese which joe speaks - hong kong - i highly doubt will become up and coming city, it has seen it's glory days and it just is getting more crowded and polluted. so off to the rest of china we go!
do you know how random it is to find a class or teacher to teach mandarin in poland (and mind you, teach mandarin in english NOT polish)? do you see the sheer madness of it all? well, i may have found that one random person! my friend stumbled upon an ad and hearing me whine about wanting to learn mandarin - she wrote down the info. and you know what? she is a native mandarin speaker here doing her ph.d. how crazy is that? so i'll meet her next week to make sure she is not a psychopath and make sure that she speaks decent english and start lessons in november. whoo-hoo! now, joe is doubtful that he will get a decent return on this investment. yes, i'm generally a quitter. i'm not afraid to admit it. and i keep having to remind him that i have to try 10 million things before i find what i really like and enjoy :P and really, the way i see it, i never quit on what's important (relationships) and i just know when to stop - very wise indeed.
i will end with a video of the kids' favorite activity lately. makayla wants to be a teacher and a mommy when she grows up. i bought this whiteboard to foster that dream and they've been playing with it non-stop. though it means i have to be a student and copy down whatever they write on the board (10 times!) - that's the downside. neither of them want to be a student - only a teacher. in one scene, ethan cracks himself up and holds his tummy - i think it's so funny! where do kids learn that kind of gestures? it's hilarious. makayla also scored that lanyard around her neck from a supermarket which makes her look more teacher-y. nice.
7 comments:
LOL...your kids are hilarious!!!!!
Good luck with Mandarin; I bet it'd be a breeze after trying to learn Polish!
man! too bad you guys are in poland, and i don't live in Philly anymore! Otherwise I'd love to teach mak and ethan mandarin!!
HAHHAA....Mak and Ethan are SO cute and funny!!
I sympathize with your decision to quit Polish lessons. We have considered it, too, but Tony wants to muddle on.
I can't decide which language I'd learn in its place, though.
French, which is helpful here in Europe--and also in Egypt and Africa and parts of Canada? Or Spanish, which would be more useful when we get back home?
If you are determined to learn Mandarin, then you will conquer the difficulty you meet in the way. Good luck! You don't be upset about being in Poland, after all, the internet can help you know about China and learn Chinese.
i realize that i've "inherited" some of ethan's trendy garb that aiden has outgrown. good thing for hand-me-downs, otherwise our little ones would be in lord knows what kind of clothing ;) miss you lots.
OMG, how crazy is this??? I haven't see your blogger update notices so now after who knows how long I've checked in!!! Loved your photos from Spain on fb! But seriously, good luck with Mandarin, it'll be a great asset once you learn it. My kids absolutely don't want to learn neither Korean nor Japanese, so Anna has been learning Arabic since the Summer, and Jana, she's really not into languages for now...
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