When I turned 40 last week (December 21st), people kept asking me if I felt any older. I said, “Yes. I feel one day older than I did yesterday.”
It’s just a day. Nothing special really.
That being said, I try not to get too wrapped up in this year ending/beginning anew thing. But it does make a difference, this year we’ve spent together. I have had such a great time talking to all of you, of sharing triumphs and tragedies, of posting movie reviews and talking to fellow students. When I turned 30, I never could have imagined that I would find myself here, learning Chinese with such great people.
You’re all a part of my daily life and I thank you for making this site someplace worth coming to every day. And so to you, the readers, and to you, the folks at ChinesePod who allow me to come here with my Mandarin mutterings…
Happy New Year!
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祝你新年快乐Frank!
Hey, the pleasure’s all ours. This site’s one of the best (did I say ‘one of’…?, no, I mean THE best)for providing learners of Mandarin with an honest and humourous assessment of a fellow learner’s own progress.
Well it was my 42nd birthday just 3 weeks ago. At this time of resolutions etc, why don’t we set some targets for our next birthday(s)? By this time next year Frank, you’ll probably being living in Shanghai and onto Advanced level and covering for John when he’s on holiday. My goal for my next birthday is to reach Advanced also, Advanced Newbie!
Keep up the good work.
Happy New Year and a belated happy birthday as well! My 31st birthday is just a little more than a week away and it is truly incredible what a difference a year can make. This time last year I had never heard of Cpod and really didn’t know which way I was heading with my life. The last six months that I’ve spent in the company of Cpod and all the cpoddies has created a big change in my life and made me find the way to new dreams and ambitions that I very much hope will be fulfilled during this year. Thanks everybody!
Barry - As always you’re far too kind! I’m about a decade away from being at John’s fluency level! And if you’re really trying to break out of the Newbie level, let me give you the two best pieces of advice:
1) Just start listening to the Elementary lessons. They’re not as hard as you think they are! They’re just LONGER! (I’m finding that the Intermediate lessons are more challenging overall, and part of that is length. Part of it is just new sentence structures.)
2) Sign up for a month of the Practice Plan! It’s awesome! I’ve never worked with any of the other counselors, but I know that Aggie is an absolute *dream* to talk to! Give it a try!
Lunetta - Thank you so much for your comment! And happy birthday to you! I think we all feel pretty lucky that we found each other.