Beach at Taiwan, Kenting
我已经在北京两个月了，越来越多地习惯了在这儿的生活。上个月，我和十一位同学开学了。我们每周从周一到周四，上十六个小时的课，包括语言，文学，报刊阅读和古代汉语的课。功课比较多，但因为每星期有三天的周末，学习的压力大体上不那么严重.
对于学中文最好的方法，很多人都有自己的看法。比如说，有些人觉得与其花时间预习课本上的课文，不如尽力找中国朋友，练习说话。对我看来，首先需要决定你有什么语言目标。如果你只想说得很流利，你就会多花时间和中国人一起聊天。不过，如果你也想变得有学问，我觉得值得上课和复习生词。
至今，我最享受上文学课。这不仅是因为我们有一位非常热烈的老师，还是因为我们有很多机会学习中国最有名最重要的原文。我们已经讨论了鲁迅<狂人日记>的意义，也学习了司马迁的一些历史故事。将来我们会读一些中国历史上的经典名著，包括<红楼梦>，<三国演义>和<西游记>。报刊阅读的课也很有用—我们每周要写一篇新闻文章的摘要，所以有机会看当地的报纸。
课余除了加入一个足球队以外，我还加入了北大国际象棋协会。我是比较认真的棋手，代表英国二十一岁以下的象棋队，有时去国外参加国际比赛。今年到中国之前，我担心我可能没有机会保持我对西洋棋的热情。不过，北大的协会有二十多个会员，他们都很热烈。而且我发现到中国最厉害的两位棋手都是北大的学生—在中国排名第一棋手的丁立人和女子世界冠军侯逸凡！所幸的是，我上周遇见了丁，和他谈天了中国的棋手。
最后，我十一的时候去了台湾。我呆了七天，参观了很多地方。除了台北以外，我还去了华联，高雄，野柳和垦丁。我过得十分愉快，那里的天气和海鲜都总是非常好。我享受逛夜市，和当地人练习说话（在那儿他们说得更慢），参观国家公园和经验台北的夜生活。我强烈地推荐任何人去台湾旅游！哦，我还看到了一些猴子。
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
I’ve already been in Beijing for two months now and feel increasingly at ease with life here. Last month, my eleven classmates and I started lectures. Every week we have classes Monday through Thursday, with lessons in language, literature, newspaper reading and classical Chinese amongst others. Whilst we are set a lot of work, the three day weekends mean work pressure is never overly severe.
As for views on the best way to study Chinese, many people will say different things. For example, some consider making friends and speaking as much as possible to be the more effective than spending time staring at texts. I think it’s most important to first clarify what one’s language goals are. If you only want to speak fluently, then it may be effective to chat with as many Chinese as possible. However, if you also aim to become literate, then I think it is worth keeping attendance at lectures and putting in the hours at home.
So far, I’ve most enjoyed my literature classes. Not only because we have a very passionate lecturer, but also as we have had chances to study China’s most famous and important texts in their original form. We’ve read and discussed the significance of Lu Xun’s ‘Diary of a Madman’, as well as some of Sima Qian’s historical stories. In future, we’ll also be reading some of China’s historical classics, including ‘The Dream of the Red Chamber’, ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ and ‘Journey to the West.’ Our newspaper lessons have also been very beneficial – every week we write a short essay on an article of choice from a Chinese periodical, so we also have the opportunity to engage with the local press.
Outside of class, apart from joining a football team, I have also become a member of Peking University’s chess club. I’m a relatively serious chess player; I represent England at under 21 level and have gone abroad on occasion to play in international tournaments. Before starting my year abroad, I was worried that I probably wouldn’t have the chance to keep up my chess in China. However, the University club has over 20 members, all of whom are passionate about chess. Moreover, I recently discovered that two of China’s strongest players are both students at Peking University – China’s number one Ding Liren and Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan! Last week, I was very fortunate to have the chance to meet Ding and talk to him about China’s chess talents.
Monkeys in Taiwan
Finally, I also went to Taiwan for the National Holiday. I spent a week there and travelled to various places. Other than Taipei, I also went to Hualien, Gaoxiong, Yeliu and Kenting. I had a wonderful time there, and the weather and seafood were two constant highlights. I enjoyed strolling through the night markets, practicing my Chinese with locals (they speak a lot slower there), visiting the national parks and experiencing Taipei’s nightlife. I wholeheartedly recommend anyone to go to Taiwan for holiday! Oh, I also saw some monkeys.