Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
After the show...
Having been working systematically for the last 3+ months on the musical production of 'The World Goes 'Round - The Music of Kander and Ebb' I'm feeling a little at a loose end now that that wonderful experience is over.
True, there were tears of frustration on my part about getting some of the numbers perfect - I freely admit I was the weakest singer in the cast - but I learned so much during the rehearsals, and the show week was awesome. So much fun being out there on stage singing such clever, catchy songs :)
I was going to start a Jazz Vocal Workshop this Thursday after work at WAAPA, but unfortunately it has now been cancelled due to lack of numbers. Sigh. I initially thought, well, I'll find another singing course or lessons or something. But then I realised that this was procrastinating on what I really needed to do - namely getting back to my Mandarin studies.
Yes, I have been slack and barely touched my Chinese text books - I was sorely disappointed with my TAFE language teacher last year, and had expected someone as interesting and awesome as my Japanese teacher the previous year.
Mandarin is an infinitely more difficult dialect with it's tonal intricacies but I'm usually fairly decent with picking up languages so I didn't expect to find the class so uninspiring. But I'm determined to devote at least 2 hours weekly towards getting through the text and being a lot more familiar with the language before I go. After all, the trip there is the ultimate payoff, right?
True, there were tears of frustration on my part about getting some of the numbers perfect - I freely admit I was the weakest singer in the cast - but I learned so much during the rehearsals, and the show week was awesome. So much fun being out there on stage singing such clever, catchy songs :)
I was going to start a Jazz Vocal Workshop this Thursday after work at WAAPA, but unfortunately it has now been cancelled due to lack of numbers. Sigh. I initially thought, well, I'll find another singing course or lessons or something. But then I realised that this was procrastinating on what I really needed to do - namely getting back to my Mandarin studies.
Yes, I have been slack and barely touched my Chinese text books - I was sorely disappointed with my TAFE language teacher last year, and had expected someone as interesting and awesome as my Japanese teacher the previous year.
Mandarin is an infinitely more difficult dialect with it's tonal intricacies but I'm usually fairly decent with picking up languages so I didn't expect to find the class so uninspiring. But I'm determined to devote at least 2 hours weekly towards getting through the text and being a lot more familiar with the language before I go. After all, the trip there is the ultimate payoff, right?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Useful websites check out ahead of visiting China
My friend Bev send the first link through to me - pretty exciting!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/asia/china/1586107/Beijing-travel-guide-introduction.html
This site below I'm going to definitely have a thorough look through and try out the games and exercises :)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/
I'll admit I have been a little lazy with my Mandarin studies after I finished my TAFE course last year, distractions like my rehearsals for the musical production of "The World Goes 'Round", and planning Bollywood-themed parties with my fellow housemates seem so much more robust and immediate than sitting down for an hour everyday to look through my textbooks; but now that the countdown to the Olympics is under 100 days away I think the time to begin the mandarin language revolution is now!
If nothing else, if I see our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd on TV while I'm in China I might be able to understand 1 out of over 10 words he says :)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/asia/china/1586107/Beijing-travel-guide-introduction.html
This site below I'm going to definitely have a thorough look through and try out the games and exercises :)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/
I'll admit I have been a little lazy with my Mandarin studies after I finished my TAFE course last year, distractions like my rehearsals for the musical production of "The World Goes 'Round", and planning Bollywood-themed parties with my fellow housemates seem so much more robust and immediate than sitting down for an hour everyday to look through my textbooks; but now that the countdown to the Olympics is under 100 days away I think the time to begin the mandarin language revolution is now!
If nothing else, if I see our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd on TV while I'm in China I might be able to understand 1 out of over 10 words he says :)
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