NTU test, Grammar, and Danshui

Yesterday, I finally got to try some delicious moon cakes! We started the day with a rather long but very important lesson on Chinese grammar. ICLP has tried in the past two years to revolutionize how Chinese grammar is taught. Traditionally, Chinese has been taught in the West in such a way as to emphasize nouns and adjectives over verbs. New linguists have re-examined Chinese and realized how much more important verbs are in the Chinese language. Furthermore, they have realized the adjectives do not really exist in Chinese and can be really though of as a form of verbs (I know this is confusing). The new "parts of speech" way of teaching Chinese grammar will be used at ICLP and they hope it will help students avoid making mistakes in usage of words. That being said, grammar is not my strong point and I found the lecture hard to follow.

The second lecture yesterday went over the different courses we may be placed into and the different books we will be using. Today, I got my schedule. I will have four hours of classes a day. Three hours of group classes and one hour of one-on-one classes. My three textbooks are 今日台湾，中国文化丛谈，and 新闻 听、说、读. One is on modern Taiwan, another is on Chinese culture, and the last one is on reading and listening to the news. All are in traditional Chinese. I am incredibly excited to start class in earnest.

Today we also did a trip to Danshui! We saw old temples and an old fort which was used by the Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Manchu, and Japanese rulers of Taiwan. It was also the site of the British consulate during the 19th century. The highlight of Danshui was the arcade by the riverside. I won a balloon sword in one of the games. I also tried deep fried mushrooms from a street vendor and downed it with a cool coke (served in a vintage glass bottle).

Tomorrow we go to the National Palace Museum (my fourth trip) and one of Chiang Kai-Shek's former houses.