Chinese in two hours a week!

I keep forgetting to pimp this to you Chicago-area types: My Chinese teacher at the Chinese Mutual Aid Association, Liu laoshi, is starting up a new beginning adult class in (Taiwanese) Mandarin. The first class is 6 p.m. tonight, actually, but don't let that deter you: If this course is anything like the last one, it'll build gradually and she's very liberal about taking on new students after the start of the term. She teaches both speaking and reading/writing, so it would be worth taking even if you can already speak some Chinese but never learned more a few characters.

She's a wonderful lady. A bit conservative in her views, but that's hardly surprising in someone who fled the Communist takeover of the Mainland. The important thing is that she's flexible and very open to input from students. In fact, I think she was a bit disappointed that we didn't take on more responsibility for our instruction and push to do more challenging assignments, like oral presentations and such.

The fee is nominal. Unless you can find someone willing to tutor you in Chinese for free, I can guarantee it's the cheapest instruction you'll find in the city. And the location is good: Two blocks from the Argyle stop on the red line, in the heart of North Chinatown/Little Saigon. 為甚麼遲疑呢? (What are you waiting for?)

Iacta alea est

So I've got my ticket for Oregon. I fly out Wednesday morning; my return date is Monday, but we'll just have to see how things play out. I'll be exhausted, what with the Turandot the night before, but they'll most likely be a lot of downtime after I arrive. Clothes are easy--the weather's basically the same there as it is here. The hard part will be deciding what books to bring.