Mandarin Chinese Immersion

Well, I haven't blogged now for three weeks! So what have I been doing?

Three weeks ago, my older daughter started kindergarten and my younger daughter started preschool. I really want my children to have more music and art in their lives than what schools can provide. So I found a music class and an art class. My older one also has an after-school enrichment singing and dancing class. Of course all this driving more than doubles the amount of gas I was using last year when we often walked to preschool. To top it all off, I am trying to teach both girls mandarin Chinese. We spent a month in San Francisco at the Chinese American International School this summer and I want that learning to continue.

This is what really occupies so much of my time. Learning new poems and songs to teach, making writing worksheets, and cutting out pictures from magazines all take up time. I really wish there were Chinese immersion schools here in the Central California Valley. In San Francisco, there are two public schools that are Mandarin immersion in addition to the ones that are Cantonese immersion. Then there are more that are private schools.

I spend my days speaking entirely in Chinese to the girls. Of course, no one talks to me in Chinese, just English. So in essence, I am talking to myself in Chinese all day. And singing and reciting poetry to myself in Chinese all day. It feels goofy and at times completely futile. It is especially futile when both girls and my husband have looks on their faces that say, "I can't understand a word of what you are saying. Can you please just speak English?"

To make my life absolutely crazy this week, I also caught a cold and had a migraine headache which I haven't had in almost a year. I started seeing sparkles and having mild vertigo at music class. Thankfully, I was able to get some ibuprofen down while we was there. On the way home, my older daughter asked to have her window rolled down. Keep in mind it was 100 degrees here in Fresno at the time. Weary and afraid of what the heat would do to the progress of my migraine, I told her, "No, it's too hot outside". She giggled at me and said in perfect Chinese, "Mama, ni yao shuo 'wai mian tai re'!" (Mama, you should say 'it's too hot outside') In other words, she was laughing because in my misery, I had forgotten to stick to Chinese.

Well, that motivates me to keep speaking Chinese despite the dirty looks and the exasperated sighs and the threats from my kids to never play with me again.

Comments

[THo]

This is a hilarious story and definitely an encouraging one.

[THo]

How funny! I'm glad something encouraging did happen that day! I am consistently impressed by the effort you are making to raise your kids in a bilingual household.