Why on earth would anyone want to do this?!
Hello, my name is Ian, a retired Senior International Business Executive and Consultant with a very fulfilled life as a drummer (rock & African), motorcyclist, would-be guitarist, cook, movie-goer, director and dad. So, when I decided to try my hand at Mandarin, this was the question I really had to ask myself.
I already had a good life. I was loving being retired, so why would I want to bring some whole new levels of stress into my life?
The answer was obvious really. Although I’ve lived in China, have a lovely Chinese wife, and had just bought a house in Sanming (Fujian Province), my Mandarin skills were almost non-existent. This was something I knew I’d been putting off but really had to fix.
I scoured the internet looking for an introductory Mandarin course as I knew I would need the encouragement and discipline that goes with some formal teaching, and finally found Goldsmiths Confucius Institute Mandarin short courses. Eventually, I signed up, rather nervously!
Why nervously, you might rightly ask? Surely Goldsmiths has a great reputation as a centre of learning? Surely the courses they offer will be well-structured and taught? Well yes, of course, that is true, but I am 63, have no great language skills, and learning Chinese is extremely hard!
How do I know all this? Well, I live with my Chinese wife and daughter and they have routinely encouraged me in my efforts by laughing out loud and passing helpful comments like:
“Nobody in China is ever going to understand you.”
Not to mention, there is also the necessary element of learning of pinyin, tones and committing to memory thousands of Chinese characters.
My fears were later confirmed when I bumped into a group of senior university staff outside our classroom. They jovially asked what I had been doing. I explained I was trying to learn Mandarin, with their retort being:
“Don’t envy you that, learning Chinese is so bloody difficult!”
Now I think you understand, I knew this was going to be tough.
And truly, it was difficult at the start. I was the oldest and possibly the least experienced in our smallish Mandarin group class and, despite being a highly paid and nimble-minded businessman, the pace was just too much for me! So I talked to Confucius’ admin staff and agreed that a 1-1 course was probably more suitable for me, and they set this up in a few days so I didn’t lose out. It was very helpful.
This is where I met my teacher (老师 lǎoshī), and now friend, Chengmei Liang. She was everything that I needed in a Mandarin teacher. Warm, friendly, flexible and endlessly encouraging and patient. We agreed on the course materials we would use, set a sensible pace, and made the lessons as much fun as we could. We even shared a little Chinese tea to keep us going. It was a very civilised and very rewarding experience.
I know what you are thinking, she simply introduced me to basic Chinese and took it easy with me. I suppose that’s a little true. But it also misses the fact that she is also a Chinese martial arts graduate and teacher, so trust me, she is definitely not someone to mess with!
After two terms, and taking on additional business responsibilities, I decided I should lighten my load and ease my mind. I decided to suspend my Mandarin classes in favour of joining Goldsmiths Qigong short course (traditional and gentle healthy and spiritual martial arts exercises). I am so happy that I did; it hass been fantastic to relax both my body and mind with such a varied and friendly group of people.
We’ve all been gently stretched and challenged as tranquil Chinese traditional music plays in the background. One and a half hours just flies by, and my strength, flexibility and balance have all improved as a result. Our next challenge, sadly brought about by Covid19’s quarantine, is to try and continue our classes remotely using Microsoft Teams so that we do not lose our momentum.
So there you have it. It was definitely worth it, and my thanks to Chengmei and Goldsmiths for making this journey possible and enjoyable.
I hope that my new found skills will allow and help me socialise more easily with family and locals whenever we ‘holiday’ in our new Chinese home! So please wish me/us well!
Ian is a keen student, eager to learn new skills and take on new challenges. He is currently enrolled in Goldsmiths Confucius Institute Qigong short course and has also participated in the department’s Mandarin for Beginners and 1-1 Mandarin short courses.
