Greetings from the USA!

 

One of my friends on www.dioenglish.com wanted to know more about my interest in the Chinese language and in China.  This blog explains how I became interested in learning the Chinese language.  I receive email from China every day.  My various blogs on other websites have explained my interest in China, especially the many blogs I have written at www.ok-english.net .  But I wanted to write something new here so that you would not have to bother with other websites.  I also need to update my own website: http://www.sedgehead.com/why_chinese.html .  This blog started as an email to someone one dioenglish, but I am modifying the email and posting it here so it will reach you!  Since I need to practice Chinese, I will also write a little in Chinese.

 

六年前我决定学中文了。我们居住了在格鲁吉亚州亚特兰大城，和我的工作在哪儿了。亚特兰大有很多中国人。  Anyway, six years ago I decided to learn the Chinese language.  I lived in the Atlanta, Georgia area.  In that area I had access to a Chinese community shopping center and bookstore with Chinese newspapers.  I thought "if I'm going to learn Chinese, now is a good time because there are some Chinese people in my community."  That "community" of Atlanta has 5 million people but only 50,000 are Chinese! 

 

那本书局有书跟繁体中文。  The bookstore had only books and papers with traditional Chinese characters.  But I quickly decided to learn both sets of characters, and am better with simplified characters.

 

2002 我听说很多人说中文。  In 2002 I had heard a radio program on world languages.  They said "two people speak Chinese for every one that speaks English."  I thought "I should learn Chinese."  Do I am learning it still!

 

我学中文了。 In 2004, I contacted a group of students at the University of Georgia, near my home there.  I hired one Chinese student as a tutor.  My Chinese skills were still very poor.  I only studied with the tutor a few times, fewer than ten.  I started practicing speaking Chinese by using language tapes.  In 2005, I found some flashcards that helped me start to learn a few Chinese words.

 

我学拼音了。In 2006, I learned how to type pinyin on my computer and write Chinese.  At one point I changed the default language on my computer to simplified Chinese.  I had difficulty changing it back to English! 

 

有很忙的捗了。In 2007, my progress continued to be slow.  Then, in 2008, we left Atlanta and Georgia and returned to our old hometown in Arkansas.  The town is called Mountain Home.  This town has mainly people of European ancestory, about 11,000 people.  Orientals are the largest minority with about 50 to 100 people.  A very few Spanish and black people live here, probably fewer than 20 to 50 each.

 

I wanted to continue to expand my very limited knowledge of the Chinese language and culture.  So I contacted the http://comp.uark.edu/~cssa/mission.html Chinese Student and Scholar Association at the University of Arkansas, my alma mater (that is, where I graduated twice!).  I now have several friends; some are from western China, Beijing, Nanjing, and other places.  I have taught three of them how to drive my truck, some have visited us in hour home, and I have several Chinese friends.  We live 126 miles (200 km) east of Fayetteville, where the University is located.

 

我有很多中国朋友。In 2008, one of my Chinese friends wanted help finding a place to chat and write on the internet.  As a result, I eventually found dioenglish.com and a few other websites.  Now I have a few hundred friends in China!  Everyone wants to talk English!  They help me with Chinese and I help them with English.

 

我跟我的太太，希拉，想坐飞机到中国。我想教英文。 My wife, Sheila, and I hope to go to China in a few years.  We have no definite plans.  For now, due to family matters and finances, we have to stay in the US.  But I hope to teach English in mainland China in a few years.  I can't stay in China, but I might stay for a year or so, 左右。

 

Lastly, when you read my blog, you will notice I pay careful attention to spacing, capitalization, and punctuation.  I put no spaces before commas or periods.  I capitalize words appropriately.  My Chinese friends often neglect these "little things."  If you neglect them, I suggest you read my "Sedgehead English: Lesson One" blog on this website.  It will help you realize why this is very important if you want to write good English.  Without it, your English will look very childish.  Why do I say "childish?"  Because we are taught these rules in the first few years of school.  People who do not pay attention to the "little things", as I call them, write like children.  If you were in college, only three such errors would cause the teacher to give you a failing grade on what you write!  That is why I consider it important!

 

pH