Why Learning Chinese? 你为什么学汉语？

Just unfolding my life in a sequence seems too boring... Therefore here on the day of Chinese New Year an intermezzo to give some (if any) ideas about my fascination for the East.

It all started in 2003 when I for professional reasons I first visited Asia in Hong Kong (香港). This city overwhelmed me with it's bustling energy.
First, I perceived this as noisy and irritating, later as incredibly energizing and refreshing, especially coming from Good Old Europe that might be very picturesque, but also rather stuffy...

Moreover, I really started to discover and appreciate the Chinese people. First as business partners, which takes a long time of investement in trust and good faith, later also in my private life. Getting acquainted with Chinese habits and ways of thinking was one of these moments in my life that gave me a boost for years...

What a discovery, these in business shrewd and tough, in private on the other hand very friendly, humourous, romantic and sometimes really passionate people! Not to mention the pleasant suprisal of the Asian physique...

Back home in Holland I decided to explore the Chinese mind by trying to master the common language of the country, Mandarin or Pu tōng huà. The confrontation with the Chinese characters was less shocking then the pronounciation. Since the characters are used in all Chinese dialects and (partly) als in the Japanese and Korean languages, there is no clue from the characters how to pronounce a character...

Even worse, the same character might have multiple meanings and therefore pronounciations. Not to mention the other way around that same sounds are assigned to several characters with all different meanings... Pronouncing Mandarin is a challenge, mastering five tones, and the best way is to just see it as a music or singing.

Still, learning Chinese is very rewarding: The language has a beautifully logical structure full with ancient wisdom. Furthermore, once you speak Chinese somewhat and the Chinese DO understand you (which is the ultimate Proof of the Pudding, leaving the Chinese in Shock and Awe...) you make new friends on a daily basis! In this respect I will write up my experiences in Beijing soon...

For now, home in Holland, I am happy working my second year with lovely classmates on the Amsterdam Chinese School and my wonderfully funny private teacher Brenda...
(cont'd)