Author: stephanusoptimus
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Spring Festival 2019 Staycation
And so it’s here yet again, the Spring Festival. One of the most important festivals and holidays of the Chinese calendar. One in which there is a massive movement of those working in the big cities to their hometowns for the week-long event. The Spring Festival itself will be held between February 4th and 10th,…
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Winnipeg for Christmas
So I’m back in Winnipeg for a week for Christmas. Such a long way for such a short time, right? I suppose, but I realize I haven’t been back for Christmas for years, about five or so, since before I originally went to China. And since then, in the university job I had, we always…
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It got cold fast
Beijing doesn’t have snow like Winnipeg does, but it did get plenty cold. We’re in that time of year in which it’s either warm and smoggy or cold and windy. And all this happens just in time for the zipper to break on my jacket! It’s been a quick few months, actually, scratch that, time…
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An update on learning Chinese… aiming for HSK 4 or 5 in a year
So I’ve continued to study Chinese but recently have kicked it up a notch and now I have a bit more of a clearer goal in mind. I’d like to hit HSK 4 or 5 within the next year. What is HSK? Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试) is a 6-band descriptor of one’s proficiency in the Chinese…
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Wind or smog, winter is here… and that means it’s hot pot season!
According to the Chinese calendar, October 30th marked the first day of winter, according to The Beijing News. That means a few things: first, it’s going to get colder (but that comes as no surprise); two, it’s going to get windy; three, it’s going to get smoggy. Oh, and four, it means that the centralized…