I went back to work yesterday and managed to make it through the day, back through the hour-long commute, and into my living room before I collapsed again. I’m up and I’m mobile now, but I have to tell you that this past week has taken its toll!
I also returned to work to find out that 8% of the workforce in my company had been let go. Yeowtch! I was just glad to see that I wasn’t one of the dispossessed, which was an honest concern considering that I hadn’t been to work in three days and my inbox was empty when I arrived.
So, yeah. I was sick for three days. And the weekend before that, I admit that I’d hit a kind of critical mass on all my studying and took some time off. So when I went back to work and saw my ChinesePod PDF’s printed out and taped to the wall of my cubicle, it was the first time I’d seen or read any Chinese in almost a week. The result?
I’d forgotten everything. I mean… everything. It set me back by months. Let that be a lesson to all of you!
I’m sure part of that is the fatigue and illness talking, but I’ll be spending the weekend trying to brush up my chops as I prepare for my final week of Octagon training.
Today is Friday (well, for a few more minutes anyway), but I’m going to hold off on the Friday Five interview until next week. It features the lovely and soon-to-be absent Miss Colleen.
Be here.
That’s all I’ve got for tonight. I’m wiped out. I hope you all have a good weekend!
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One of my favorite authors, the brilliant Julio Cortázar, once wrote:
“Nothing is lost if we finally have the courage to admit everthing is lost, and we have to start over again.”
I’m sure your chinese knowledge is still there somewhere, under the surface. Just blow a little on the fire to rekindle it.
I can imagine this kind of experience doesn’t encourage you, but don’t let it get you down.
Don’t let it get to you, Frank. Having taken breaks from chinese before I know the feeling of thinking all your work has been for nothing and that you will have to start from scratch again.
I guess a good metaphor for this is the runner who slips down a hill. Sure, he’ll have to run back up, but his muscles will have developped in the meantime, in such a way that the second time is easier. The more times you learn the “same” stuff over again the faster you’ll seem to reacquire it each time.
Something which I’ve found helps is to keep useful notes. You don’t have to write everything down meticulously, but a few diagrams and the like can be really helpful if you need to go over material later on.
Hang in there!
Sometimes you need to take a break. Studying non-stop can lead to only a short term learning. You’ll probably end up retaining it better after a short break and a review. At least that’s been my experience.
That’s my hope. I had always planned to spend a few weeks reviewing after the Octagon was finished anyway, but I didn’t think I’d forget so much with just one week away!
Frank, you obviously aren’t as addicted as me. I would looked how to say my illness, practise being able to say I was ill in Chinese.