Learning Chinese: in at the deep end in Chengdu

When I set a foot in Chengdu, China, in 2008, I was like the character played by Bill Murray in the movie Lost in Translation. I was tucked away in a whole different culture with some clichés in my mind, and memories of my first trip to Shanghai in 2004. However, it was different this time. I remember I was constantly amazed and slightly afraid by my new environment. As a natural instinct, I was on the lookout to speak to someone of my own (Western/European) culture because I felt reassured to share common values. But after a few days, I was sure of one thing though: I was eager to embrace the Chinese culture!

I wanted to make Chinese friends, do as much sightseeing as possible and, of course, learn Mandarin. I took my first Chinese class shortly after my arrival at the university. My classmates and I started to learn Chinese from scratch but immediately the fear of the language was swept away by the friendliness of the teacher.

We learnt the basics, like greetings and how to start a conversation in different places. For example, we learnt how to ask for directions in a taxi or how to barter a price and buy an item in a shop.

But when you have the chance to live in a foreign country, you cannot simply rely on your language classes. You keep learning new words and attitudes by interacting with people. Whether you ask for a train ticket, a taxi or hear a conversation, even if you don’t get everything, some words will catch your attention, and by simply hearing and repeating these words, these will be engraved in your head.

The environment where you learn is a key element to learning a foreign language. One day, the professor decided to take us to the People’s park of Chengdu… just imagine yourself, drinking a Chinese cup of tea in broad summer daylight, with couples hanging around, elderly people plying mahjong (an old Chinese game) or Go next to you. It was a typical day, but I felt myself totally immersed in this atmosphere and thus, I wanted to learn more Chinese and more Chinese culture.

Living for 10 months in Chengdu, learning the customs and the language remains one my most memorable and gratifying experience so far.

Cactus offers Chinese courses in China in the following locations: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and Hong Kong.

To learn some of the language before you go, or to brush up on existing language skills, Cactus runs daytime and evening courses in Chinese in London and other cities across the UK. Evening courses in Mandarin are also available in the US and Canada.