The highlights for the month of March were the language meetings with Leyao, continued with practicing Chinese characters and reading passages, and reading upon literature about the population crisis and growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in China.
This is by far the most productive and enjoyable month of language learning in this program partly because of the fun activities that Leyao and I do and the rewarding conversations we have about Chinese culture while practicing Cantonese. For the first week of March, we went to Fat Dragon which is an Asian fusion restaurant on Cary Street. We ate deep fried squid and shrimp, and we both got lunch boxes with a variety of dishes including white rice, spring roll, assorted vegetables, and the main dish. Then, the following week was spring break, so we did not meet. After spring break, we regrouped and planned out what we should do for the remainder of the time and additionally discussed marriage in China. I found this topic intriguing and was something that came up during my discussion with my iTalki teacher, Karen 老师, so I wanted to get a student perspective. This past week, we practiced Chinese calligraphy and painting on a special type of paper called 宣纸. The paper is more absorbent than traditional printer paper because it is made out of rice, so it holds the ink and water much better. I never did Chinese calligraphy or watercolor painting before, so it was an unique experience to use the brushes, ink tray, and ink stick. There was a process to get the ink on the ink tray, and the first step we had to do was pour a small amount of water onto the ink tray. Then, put the ink stick perpendicular to the tray and rub against the tray in a circular motion to mix the ink with the water. The longer it is mixed, the darker the ink becomes when writing on the paper. I did not realize how messy it was because the ink was all over my fingers. Overall, I had a wonderful experience practicing calligraphy and learning about the whole process. Next month, Leyao and I planned some exciting weekly activities along with much more meaningful discussions surrounding Chinese Culture.
Continuing from last month, I read passages on the migrant population in China, food and culture, and Chinese television and drama. These were passages used in my CHIN 401 class. I found that there is a heavy government influence particularly among the migrant population and television and drama dictating what can be broadcast and the whole ordeal with the Household Registration System. In addition to reading, I continued practicing writing basic Chinese characters for everyday conversations. Handwriting Chinese characters is much harder than English because it is all about memorization rather than in English. In English, I can sound out the words and spell them out while in Chinese, there is no system like that. I write and practice Chinese characters 30 to 45 minutes three times a week, and this is a consistent schedule I am able to keep up with.
Lately, I have been reading articles about the growing population decline in China and the prevalence of type two diabetes. The articles were written in English, and because I am fluent in English and know it much better than Mandarin or Cantonese, I had a deeper understanding of the material. It was interesting to learn about the population decline and how the Chinese government abolished the One Child Policy and expanded it to two children and now three children per family because of this alarming trend. Not only China, South Korea and Japan are also facing a growing older population while the birth rates are declining.
The other topic I was alarmed by was the prevalence of type two diabetes in China. The prevalence of diabetes in China is 12.4% of their population, and that is quite a lot because China’s population is 1.4 billion (Wang, 2018). The articles that I read claimed that the prevalence in diabetes increased due to sedentary lifestyles, eating diets high in red meat rather than fruits and vegetables, insufficient exercise, and smoking (Wang, 2018). This information makes sense since many Chinese citizens are now experiencing a more financially secured lifestyle than before, so this may be fueling the increased cases of diabetes in China.
This month was quite productive, and I hope to continue that productivity into April. One major goal I want to accomplish in April is to take some type of proficiency test in either Mandarin or Cantonese.
Sources:
Wang L, Peng W, Zhao Z, et al. Prevalence and Treatment of Diabetes in China, 2013-2018. JAMA. 2021;326(24):2498–2506. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.22208
Comments
The public health crises you describe in China are interesting. The type 2 diabetes prevalence was something I particularly did not expect because I did not know that China's population has a high number of risk factors for the disease. I wonder how this compares to the U.S. and whether we have similar or different contributing factors to our (I'm assuming) increasing rates of Type 2 diabetes.