Chinese Paper Cutting Experience

Mandarin Learning Center @ Chinese Culture University is hosting Chinese Culture Seminars once a month for free. For the month of May is Chinese Paper Cutting using paper cutter. I remember 5 years ago, I attended the same seminar in NTNU but we only used the scissors.
Before the hands on , the facilitator told us the history (handed from generation to generation through oral sayings) of Chinese Paper Cutting. Long time ago, there was a man who lost his wife and he was really, really lonely. A friend gave him a gift, a lady made of paper cutting that sticks to the lamp. When the lamp is on, there’s a huge image of a woman, pretending that’s his wife. From then on, Chinese Paper Cutting became famous.
It was started 2000+ years ago by Chinese, offering it to their ancestors in heaven, or offered to a person who just passed away.
Nowadays, people use paper cutting for giving as a gift any time of the year, use as a decoration for windows or doors, and even accessories for body, umbrella, bags, and  clothes. Artists may now use different colors unlike before, the only color is red!

I learned a lot today! I thought using paper cutter is harder than using scissors. It was a nice experience!

The figure pattern, cutter, and board. The white in the pattern will be removed.

The facilitator, she’s helping me to cut the face… it was difficult for a beginner like me!

My finish product, time to stick it in a colorful background using a spray glue.

Chinese paper cutting is one of the oldest livin arts of the Chinese Culture.

Chinese Conversation Class

I started my intermediate chinese conversation class again in Chinese Culture University just to enhance my listening and speaking ability. The class is every Tuesday and Thursday, 8 – a.m., 2 hours each day, and it will last for 8 weeks. I think this is what I need rather than being in class for 3 hours everyday, that I have to memorize everything all the character for the exams, that is too tiring and at the end I don’t even remember anything since I don’t have the chance to use all those vocabularies. Speaking and listening without pressure I guess would benefit me more.

Anyways, we are 8 from different countries (USA. Canada, Australia, England, France, Guatemala, and of course yours truly…from the Philippines) that’s why teacher called our class “xiao lian he guo”, sort of United Nation. Our first topic is “ai qing” (love)… sort of boring, but it’s ok… I got the chance to know about LOVE in some parts of the world!

Right now I’m in B4, the digital floor (my first time to be here, and I like the school’s facilities! I’ve been in this school since September of 2009), waiting for my 2 former classmates from Korea and Thailand (Sun Young and Paifan).

Continuation… 3/25
After almost 4 months, I got the chance to see teacher, and former classmates Sun Young and Paifah. We had lunch @ Napoli while catching up… It’s nice to see them once again!!!

Studying Chinese

前年是我第一次來外國教書。一句中文都不懂。我不高興因為沒想到我的學生不會 說英文。有的時候，什們玩著玩著，勿然打起架來了。我聽了什們的話可是聽不 懂。怎麼辧？ 所以我學起中文來了。學中文有意思可是對我來說非常難。現在學不快為沒有練習，所以沒學會。

中文跟英文不一樣。第一：中文的發音比莫文奇異。中文有很多聲調。一共有五個調。例 如：一聲「八」（ㄅㄚ）、二聲「拔」（ㄅㄚˊ）、三聲「 把」（ㄅㄚˇ）、四聲 「爸」（ㄅㄚˋ）、五聲「吧」（ㄅㄚ˙）。這是我的問題。要是我說錯了，別人 說：「聽不清楚你說什麼」 。我的中文還說得不好。每天又念書又教書，沒有時間 複習。

第二：學中文，也學說，也學寫字。以前，我覺寫中國字真麻煩。因為一個字有很 多意思，所以聽寫的時候緦是寫不好也寫不對。寫功課沒問題了，我緦是準備很 好。要是我做不完，就睡不著。我除了寫以外，還有說的練習不多句，所以學不 會。

現在，我很高興我越來越進步了。我沒想到我能住在台北，聼得懂他們的話，所以 生活都很便利。學中文很有用。以後，我希望能中文說很流利。