I got put into an advanced class, which is not necessarily appropriate to my level. I could have requested to be put in the intermediate class instead, but I have found in the past that that I learn more in a class that is difficult for me than I do in a class that I can skate through, and thus I stuck with it. I was definitely the worst in the class, and it was a little hard on my ego to suffer through that, but as I predicted, the results were worth it.
Recently the military decided to make the annual language test considerably more difficult, without providing supplementary training to help everyone pass it. Fun, fun. My score on the old test, was a listening 3, reading 3. Which is pretty much as good as you can do. (Passing is a 2/2). But when I took the new test for the first time, I scored a 1+/2+. Which is the same as saying "failing miserably". But after this class I took the test and got a 2+/2+. Which means I did "really freakin' good". I am pleased, to say the least. It's also good news for me financially, because I still get a good amount of language pay, and I just started getting paid for E-5 this month, so overall I am coming out ahead. Since I will be unemployed in 7 months or so, the more money I can save now the better.
Another cool thing happened in class. We had to give a presentation in Chinese (using powerpoint) on the topic of our choice relating to China. I knew that my speaking would be lousy compared to other people's so I plotted a way to make up for that. I illustrated my presentation, by drawing humorous pictures in Paint. I got a really good response. Everyone laughed a lot, and as it turns out, my strategy worked perfectly. My presentation was not the best, grammatically speaking, but it was still one of the most memorable. I am so pleased that I was able to employ my artistic skills and my quirky sense of humor to help me do well on my project.
Overall the class was really fun, and I was actually bummed to have to go back to work. On the positive side, I'm now really excited about the prospect of attending college when I get out. When I graduated high school I was so sick of academics, I couldn't stand the thought of it, but now I think I could really get into studying again.
One last interesting thing happened. Because I was the only E-5, I ended up being the class leader, which was initially intimidating, but ended up being really fun actually. It was fun to be in charge of a bunch of E-4's and E-3's. Although the people in my class were all so responsible already that I never really had to use my authority. (Thankfully.)
Well, anyways here is a collection of some of the goofy drawings I used for my presentation. I can really actually draw better than this, but nonetheless people in my class were very complimentary, which once again, pleased me to say the least.
5 comments:
Thanks for sharing that... I am so glad you inherited your father's brain and not mine. Love the pics you drew for your presentation.
Using the talents that God gave you to get through, love it.
I hate to say it but I think you're right about learning more in challenging classes. I aced my Spanish class last semestre in HACC (not comparable to chinese i know, but bear with me), but i don't feel like I learned as much as I wanted to. Maybe SPAN102 will be better.
Anyway enough about me, good luck with everything, keep using those talents, and God bless you in your future and everything you do.
it'll be fun to see what He has in store for you...
Judging by your pictures, the presentation must have been REALLY interesting. Cheers on being the "leader" of the class and on your success. You should definitely get into school when you get home, even if on a very casual basis. It's kinda fun.
My presentation was about mental illness in China. The picture with the two fetuses crossed out was drawn to illustrate a discussion on whether or not the "one child policy" in China contributes to the increasingly growing rate of mental illness in China. ("One child policy" when said in Chinese and translated into English literally means the "one fetus policy") It's funny because I could tell, one of the Chinese teachers who is from mainland China (As opposed to Taiwan) definitely sees nothing wrong with the one child policy, and consequently disapproved in my bringing it up. I have really enjoyed my Chinese teachers and the cultural insight they have given me over the years. I also think it's cool that my Chinese is good enough to discuss such things, although I admit a good amount of preparation was necessary in this case.
Hi Sarah! Thanks for visiting my blog. Your presentation looks like it was really interesting! I hope my Chinese can be as good as yours one day. I just have so much trouble with motivation! By the way, the Chinese word for blog is 部落格.
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