Have I mentioned recently about how it's been swelteringly hot outside for about two weeks straight? Maybe even longer... Typically high 80s, low 90s. I have turned into such a whiny Northwesterner now, it's embarrassing. I'm just sick of getting into an oven every time I need to drive somewhere, as well as showing up to every class sweaty as a pig. We had a fantastic lightning/wind storm last night, so we all figured it would help it cool down outside. All it really did was start some fires and make everyone's cars really dirty.
Andrew is back in town, so that is nice for me : ) We have been hanging out a lot this past month. Last night he made me some delicious stir fry as we caught up after having spent a long weekend apart. Overall a very refreshing guy to be with, AND he knows a lot about China.
I am loving my living situation here in Pullman. I have three roommates in a large house a stone's throw from campus, so four of us altogether. However, we are a bit of a youth hostel. We currently have a 5th guy living with us for another few weeks, while he's finishing up his thesis for grad school, and we've had varying numbers of other guests come and go. There is always a couch or two to bunk on, and the house is spacious enough that none of this has ever been a problem. I feel like every time I come home, it's like hanging out with a group of friends.
一天快乐!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
First week of classes
Here I am at the end of a long week of work/classes. I definitely am going to enjoy this semester a lot. It's like what I was saying in one of my earlier posts about how now when I'm older (well, 22), I'm able to appreciate and get a lot more out of school. Interesting how that works.
I'm loving being in charge of employee scheduling, because I consequently get to write my own schedule too. The downside to that is I have no one to blame but myself when I have a scheduling conflict with work, haha! One aspect of being a manager really gives me a kick. My employees will call my cell phone at really odd times, in a panic, about a situation that really shouldn't be a big deal.
For example:
Concerned employee: "Ky! I added a new class, so I need to change my work availability! I'm so sorry, what do I do??"
Me: "Umm.. fill out a new availability form and put it in my box?" (Why are you calling me??)
I also hear a lot of "I'm sorry!" and "I promise it won't happen again," like I've got a suitcase full of wrath I'm waiting to open up around them or something.
Anyway, in other news, I've been extremely proactive with meeting professors and starting applications to study abroad programs, as well as (and more importantly) scholarships to send me abroad. So far so good, although I'm concerned that my meager 2.83 GPA will set me back with being selected for a lot of things. It will go up by the end of this semester (straight A's baby!), but I hope that doesn't offset my apps with the timing. I'm still nursing my GPA back to health after the two years I spent on the crew team NOT really being a student. You don't want to know how low it was.
Aside from that, Prof. Lupke, who is an extremely accomplished and high-esteemed Chinese professor, is one of the people I'm trying to get on my side for scholarships. He used to be on the national board for the Boren Awards, which is one I'm applying for from the National Security Education Program. Extremely competitive though. Prof. Lupke was really impressed with me, however, for testing out of Chinese 102 and into 203 almost purely through self-study. He said he couldn't remember the last time that had happened and it would be very much to my advantage when being reviewed. That was very encouraging, and reminds me of why I am pursuing this area of study in the first place - playing to my strengths and utilizing my gift.
He also suggested that I look into the International Chinese Language Program in Taipei, Taiwan. That is what he did during his undergrad, and it's a really spectacular immersion program. I was a little skeptical at first, as most people probably are with Taiwan, because despite the Mandarin and similarities in culture.. it's not China.
For those of you who do not know, Taiwan used to be part of China, but seceded from mainland China after the Communist Party took over during the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Since then, it has developed into a major economic and technological hub of Asia, and the entire island boasts some pretty beautiful scenery (from what I've seen). Ergo, it is Chinese, but it's not China.
One major difference is that the Taiwanese don't use simplified Chinese characters like the mainland does, only traditional. This wouldn't be a problem for me necessarily, as I've really only learned the traditional forms this far anyway, other than the differences I've picked up on my own. For my name, for example, 孔凯, I always use the simplified characters because I think it looks cooler than the traditional 孔凱. Hopefully that makes sense.
Upon further contemplation, Taiwan would totally be a cool choice. I am going to study in China on my own after college regardless of whether I get to go to Harbin or Taipei or wherever for study abroad, so spending next year in Taiwan instead doesn't really change anything. The program is a lot cheaper (I think), the climate is tropical, and I'd still be learning Mandarin.
I have more to say, but might save some for another time. School is good, life is great.
I'm loving being in charge of employee scheduling, because I consequently get to write my own schedule too. The downside to that is I have no one to blame but myself when I have a scheduling conflict with work, haha! One aspect of being a manager really gives me a kick. My employees will call my cell phone at really odd times, in a panic, about a situation that really shouldn't be a big deal.
For example:
Concerned employee: "Ky! I added a new class, so I need to change my work availability! I'm so sorry, what do I do??"
Me: "Umm.. fill out a new availability form and put it in my box?" (Why are you calling me??)
I also hear a lot of "I'm sorry!" and "I promise it won't happen again," like I've got a suitcase full of wrath I'm waiting to open up around them or something.
Anyway, in other news, I've been extremely proactive with meeting professors and starting applications to study abroad programs, as well as (and more importantly) scholarships to send me abroad. So far so good, although I'm concerned that my meager 2.83 GPA will set me back with being selected for a lot of things. It will go up by the end of this semester (straight A's baby!), but I hope that doesn't offset my apps with the timing. I'm still nursing my GPA back to health after the two years I spent on the crew team NOT really being a student. You don't want to know how low it was.
Aside from that, Prof. Lupke, who is an extremely accomplished and high-esteemed Chinese professor, is one of the people I'm trying to get on my side for scholarships. He used to be on the national board for the Boren Awards, which is one I'm applying for from the National Security Education Program. Extremely competitive though. Prof. Lupke was really impressed with me, however, for testing out of Chinese 102 and into 203 almost purely through self-study. He said he couldn't remember the last time that had happened and it would be very much to my advantage when being reviewed. That was very encouraging, and reminds me of why I am pursuing this area of study in the first place - playing to my strengths and utilizing my gift.
He also suggested that I look into the International Chinese Language Program in Taipei, Taiwan. That is what he did during his undergrad, and it's a really spectacular immersion program. I was a little skeptical at first, as most people probably are with Taiwan, because despite the Mandarin and similarities in culture.. it's not China.
For those of you who do not know, Taiwan used to be part of China, but seceded from mainland China after the Communist Party took over during the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Since then, it has developed into a major economic and technological hub of Asia, and the entire island boasts some pretty beautiful scenery (from what I've seen). Ergo, it is Chinese, but it's not China.
One major difference is that the Taiwanese don't use simplified Chinese characters like the mainland does, only traditional. This wouldn't be a problem for me necessarily, as I've really only learned the traditional forms this far anyway, other than the differences I've picked up on my own. For my name, for example, 孔凯, I always use the simplified characters because I think it looks cooler than the traditional 孔凱. Hopefully that makes sense.
Upon further contemplation, Taiwan would totally be a cool choice. I am going to study in China on my own after college regardless of whether I get to go to Harbin or Taipei or wherever for study abroad, so spending next year in Taiwan instead doesn't really change anything. The program is a lot cheaper (I think), the climate is tropical, and I'd still be learning Mandarin.
I have more to say, but might save some for another time. School is good, life is great.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Back 2 School
I am laughing to myself because now that the fall semester has finally begun, I seem to have an abundance of time on my hands. So far I've only scheduled myself to work about 20 hours (hours are already scarce for everyone right now because there are no swim lessons for the next 3 weeks), so that's given me a couple of days off. I'll be heading into the office today (probably pro-bono) just to get a head-start on making the schedule for tomorrow, so I am not spending 6 hours on it tomorrow after class.
Another huge plus is that I am no longer stressed out about passing my Chinese exam, because after meeting with my professor on Friday, I successfully made it into Chinese 203 for the fall. Phew! SUCH a relief. I'm so excited to be advancing in Chinese AND to not have to self-study anymore (apart from the out-of-class work, which is sort of given).
I met with the campus representative of the Boren scholarships, which is my primary focus vis-à-vis study abroad funding for CET Harbin. She was extremely helpful, actually, and I think she'll be an excellent resource. I really hope I can pull this scholarship off; I've actually never won one before, apart from a little recurring one WSU gave me for academic merit that expired a year ago. I'm going to be working really hard for it though, and I feel like it was tailor-made for me.
Another huge plus is that I am no longer stressed out about passing my Chinese exam, because after meeting with my professor on Friday, I successfully made it into Chinese 203 for the fall. Phew! SUCH a relief. I'm so excited to be advancing in Chinese AND to not have to self-study anymore (apart from the out-of-class work, which is sort of given).
I met with the campus representative of the Boren scholarships, which is my primary focus vis-à-vis study abroad funding for CET Harbin. She was extremely helpful, actually, and I think she'll be an excellent resource. I really hope I can pull this scholarship off; I've actually never won one before, apart from a little recurring one WSU gave me for academic merit that expired a year ago. I'm going to be working really hard for it though, and I feel like it was tailor-made for me.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Really nice compliment
Actually had a super productive bunch of days here, and still have the whole week ahead of me. It'll be tough, working at 5:30am each day this week, but getting a lot done and feeling ready to start off a solid school year. It's weird to see all of the new freshmen coming into town. So budding and young, and they're probably thinking being here at WSU is the coolest thing ever. I realized today that I don't view my classes now the way I did as a freshman. As a freshman, classes were just the selection of requirements you got assigned and happened to be taking, if that makes sense. Now it feels more serious, and each class is more like a stepping stone and an obstacle I need to tackle. Maybe that's weird; I just know that when you're 18, it's hard to be extremely serious about your education and understand what it all means. Now that I'm 22, been around a couple blocks, and paying for everything myself, I have a lot more appreciation for what I sign up for and actually work really hard at it. Might just be speaking for myself here.
Anyway, today in my water aerobics class, one of my long-time students returned after being away most of the summer. She was very pleasantly surprised to see me back, so we took a few minutes to catch up. She said to me, "I'm so glad you came back, because I never got to tell you something. I have read repeatedly about how China is becoming a global superpower, and I just keep thinking, thank goodness Ky's going to be in charge."
: )
My goal for the future is to be a language specialist for the government (probably FBI). That means that I am not only a linguist, but an expert on a subject. Now, my intention is for this area of expertise to be Sinology. People will come to me for consultation on Sino-American relations, I want to translate documents vital to national security, and I want all of this information to come to me with ease. I am so thrilled by this idea, and there is definitely some level of prestige that comes with being fluent in Mandarin. Most people, particularly by my age, will not be able to learn it, at least not to the degree of fluency that I intend to have. I'm not sure how deep this has to go; how many different dialects and accents I will end up delving into. I'm even considering graduate school as a way of enhancing my credentials as an expert in Chinese language and culture, which is a route I have never been excited about pursuing. There is definitely a lot of room to grow with this idea/career field, so I'm really looking forward to what my future has in store.
Anyway, today in my water aerobics class, one of my long-time students returned after being away most of the summer. She was very pleasantly surprised to see me back, so we took a few minutes to catch up. She said to me, "I'm so glad you came back, because I never got to tell you something. I have read repeatedly about how China is becoming a global superpower, and I just keep thinking, thank goodness Ky's going to be in charge."
: )
My goal for the future is to be a language specialist for the government (probably FBI). That means that I am not only a linguist, but an expert on a subject. Now, my intention is for this area of expertise to be Sinology. People will come to me for consultation on Sino-American relations, I want to translate documents vital to national security, and I want all of this information to come to me with ease. I am so thrilled by this idea, and there is definitely some level of prestige that comes with being fluent in Mandarin. Most people, particularly by my age, will not be able to learn it, at least not to the degree of fluency that I intend to have. I'm not sure how deep this has to go; how many different dialects and accents I will end up delving into. I'm even considering graduate school as a way of enhancing my credentials as an expert in Chinese language and culture, which is a route I have never been excited about pursuing. There is definitely a lot of room to grow with this idea/career field, so I'm really looking forward to what my future has in store.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
I need to stop posting about how busy I am
I scheduled my exam to test out of Chinese 102 for next Friday afternoon. That means I basically have 7 days to finish memorizing about 250 characters and syntax. I need to stop stressing myself out about it because then I get overwhelmed, but at the same time, there is no room for me to NOT pass that test.
The biggest problem lies in that I am constantly working too. Usually up at 4:30-5:30 AM and at work until 1:00 PM or so, and occasionally have to go back for another few hours in the evening to sort out swim lesson stuff. Fortunately this schedule generally affords me the majority of the afternoon to devote to Chinese study. However, it does not really allow me to be fresh or very awake by the time I really hit the books. The memorization process is just really time-consuming and daunting in itself. One step at a time, I suppose.
Among my co-workers, there has been a lot of false speculation circulating that I am not going to school, so that's why I got the Swim Lessons/Scheduling management job. Uhhh... Hi! I am definitely taking 15 credits in the fall, plus doing all of this self-study, teaching myself an entire course worth of material in just a few short weeks, AND I'm a kick ass manager. It's true I have listed myself as having more availability than other people, but that's simply because I am willing to sacrifice my personal time in order to do a good job.
Rumors suck, and I don't appreciate them.
Okay, happy stuff. I have officially dominated Lesson 8 in my textbooks, so only 5 more lessons to tackle. I'm thinking I'm probably devoting too much time to each text/exercise. I need to overview everything so that I'm familiar with it, then I can delve into further detail when I take a second swipe at it before the exam.
I am also very excited because I am in the process of applying to CET's Intensive Chinese program in Harbin, China. Harbin is a unique program, because it is extremely immersive, in that you are fairly isolated from foreigners and are really forced to speak Chinese all the time. All of my professors have recommended this destination far and away, and WSU offers a full scholarship to go there. Andrew actually did this same program, and I've repeatedly witnessed Chinese people here in awe at how good his Mandarin is.
It's definitely way up in Manchuria/Siberian tundra and gets really frigid during the winters. But it has a really sweet, famous ice festival that's supposed to be very beautiful. The other positive of its remote, less-than-desirable location, is that people will take you seriously if you say you want to go there, because it is obviously not for students who are just trying to vacation abroad for a semester (i.e. pretty much everyone who studies abroad in Spain, Italy, Thailand, etc). Ergo, everyone doing the program is also very serious about learning Chinese. Should be dope, I'll continue updating about this as things progress.
The biggest problem lies in that I am constantly working too. Usually up at 4:30-5:30 AM and at work until 1:00 PM or so, and occasionally have to go back for another few hours in the evening to sort out swim lesson stuff. Fortunately this schedule generally affords me the majority of the afternoon to devote to Chinese study. However, it does not really allow me to be fresh or very awake by the time I really hit the books. The memorization process is just really time-consuming and daunting in itself. One step at a time, I suppose.
Among my co-workers, there has been a lot of false speculation circulating that I am not going to school, so that's why I got the Swim Lessons/Scheduling management job. Uhhh... Hi! I am definitely taking 15 credits in the fall, plus doing all of this self-study, teaching myself an entire course worth of material in just a few short weeks, AND I'm a kick ass manager. It's true I have listed myself as having more availability than other people, but that's simply because I am willing to sacrifice my personal time in order to do a good job.
Rumors suck, and I don't appreciate them.
Okay, happy stuff. I have officially dominated Lesson 8 in my textbooks, so only 5 more lessons to tackle. I'm thinking I'm probably devoting too much time to each text/exercise. I need to overview everything so that I'm familiar with it, then I can delve into further detail when I take a second swipe at it before the exam.
I am also very excited because I am in the process of applying to CET's Intensive Chinese program in Harbin, China. Harbin is a unique program, because it is extremely immersive, in that you are fairly isolated from foreigners and are really forced to speak Chinese all the time. All of my professors have recommended this destination far and away, and WSU offers a full scholarship to go there. Andrew actually did this same program, and I've repeatedly witnessed Chinese people here in awe at how good his Mandarin is.
 |
| This is where Harbin is, shown in red |
Monday, August 8, 2011
Rushed post at the PAFC
Wow, it turns out I can get onto this website at work! Usually these sorts of sites will be censored, for the obvious reason that they are unproductive. Productivity is a relative term.
Soo today is my first day as a manager at the Aquatic Center. Thus far it has been quite the trial by fire. I have been running around making sure parents have signed all of the correct forms, adjusting people's classes, in addition to the miscellaneous duties that just come with being the most senior member on staff. One instructor did not show up for her parent/child class, so here I have 20 parents sitting in the pool with their infants and no class for them. I ended up just giving them all free time in the pool instead of class and scheduling a make-up lesson for another time. Diplomatic Ky to the rescue!
As stressful as this has been, one of the main reasons I took the job is because I like to keep busy while at work. Mission definitely accomplished, and the hours seem to fly by! At least for now; it is only the first day, I suppose.
On top of this, I am busy trying to plow through 6 difficult chapters/lessons in my Chinese 102 texts. Usually each lesson takes at least one week of full dedication in & out of class, and here I have less than two weeks to hammer through it all, plus remember everything I learned in the Spring. Is it weird that I am enjoying the ridiculous challenge? I think the idea of being successful in Chinese 203 and 205 next semester is the fuel to my fire.
Another shout out to Andrew. He is taking off for Seattle this week and we won't see each other for a while. It's going to be a tough week for him at home, so I wish him the best. Meanwhile, I need to have something to show for my progress in Chinese by the time he gets back.
Soo today is my first day as a manager at the Aquatic Center. Thus far it has been quite the trial by fire. I have been running around making sure parents have signed all of the correct forms, adjusting people's classes, in addition to the miscellaneous duties that just come with being the most senior member on staff. One instructor did not show up for her parent/child class, so here I have 20 parents sitting in the pool with their infants and no class for them. I ended up just giving them all free time in the pool instead of class and scheduling a make-up lesson for another time. Diplomatic Ky to the rescue!
As stressful as this has been, one of the main reasons I took the job is because I like to keep busy while at work. Mission definitely accomplished, and the hours seem to fly by! At least for now; it is only the first day, I suppose.
On top of this, I am busy trying to plow through 6 difficult chapters/lessons in my Chinese 102 texts. Usually each lesson takes at least one week of full dedication in & out of class, and here I have less than two weeks to hammer through it all, plus remember everything I learned in the Spring. Is it weird that I am enjoying the ridiculous challenge? I think the idea of being successful in Chinese 203 and 205 next semester is the fuel to my fire.
Another shout out to Andrew. He is taking off for Seattle this week and we won't see each other for a while. It's going to be a tough week for him at home, so I wish him the best. Meanwhile, I need to have something to show for my progress in Chinese by the time he gets back.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
And the latest
It's soooo hooottttttt!!!!! OK, it's in the 80's, so I'm just being whiny. I don't know what it is, but since I moved back to Washington (from Arizona), I have never really been able to get adjusted to hot temperatures again. On the positive side, I tend to have a slightly higher tolerance for cold now, so there's that. Ew, I'm becoming a Northwesterner. I reck'n it's fitting, at least for the time being. Anyway, it was in the 90's on Saturday when I was lifeguarding at the outdoor city pool in Reaney Park, and I was melting up in the guard stand. It's nice when you're in the water, but not when you're sitting up in the guard stand for 40 minutes at a time getting devoured by the sun, without a single breeze in the entire Palouse. Oh well, survival of the fittest - I'm still here.
Otherwise things are going wonderfully as a result of my return to Pullman. I've yet to hear back about whether or not I got the Head Guard position (rather, one of three open positions, with five applicants). I should've expected that Karen would be slow in processing that, so I am not really surprised or particularly worried about it. The turnover at the pool has been interesting though. The key is to work the politics and befriend nearly everyone, then you're golden. At least, I think I'm friends with everyone.
I'm enjoying the house more each day as well. I always go into a new place with severe reservations that shortly subside. It's just a matter of getting used to a place and bringing your own personality to it. Here are a couple of pictures I took the other day. They are not extremely revealing, but you'll see just how pretty it is.
I need to really be knuckling down on studying for my Chinese exam. I've been focusing mainly on work.. and some other things.. But shout-out to Andrew, who is my new Chinese study buddy. He is pretty fluent, so he'll be helping me more with going through the dialogues & correcting my tones. It's been fun going around with him, because he has a knack for finding Chinese people in the community to speak with. Naturally, they all adore him once they hear his Chinese. Soon I'll be there, I'm sure of it.
Otherwise things are going wonderfully as a result of my return to Pullman. I've yet to hear back about whether or not I got the Head Guard position (rather, one of three open positions, with five applicants). I should've expected that Karen would be slow in processing that, so I am not really surprised or particularly worried about it. The turnover at the pool has been interesting though. The key is to work the politics and befriend nearly everyone, then you're golden. At least, I think I'm friends with everyone.
I'm enjoying the house more each day as well. I always go into a new place with severe reservations that shortly subside. It's just a matter of getting used to a place and bringing your own personality to it. Here are a couple of pictures I took the other day. They are not extremely revealing, but you'll see just how pretty it is.
 |
| Here is my beautiful backyard and rather large deck. This is the view out of the kitchen window. |
 |
| Ignoring the trash in the corner there, here is my magnificent kitchen. Granite counters, gets really great lighting, I love it. |
I need to really be knuckling down on studying for my Chinese exam. I've been focusing mainly on work.. and some other things.. But shout-out to Andrew, who is my new Chinese study buddy. He is pretty fluent, so he'll be helping me more with going through the dialogues & correcting my tones. It's been fun going around with him, because he has a knack for finding Chinese people in the community to speak with. Naturally, they all adore him once they hear his Chinese. Soon I'll be there, I'm sure of it.
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