BACK TO ACADEMIA?

At the beginning of 2008, as have many other folks, I created my Resolution List for the year. As in previous years, my “dream sheet� consisted of tasks that fell into three prioritized categories, to wit:

1. Things that must get accomplished
2. Things that Need to be accomplished, and
3. Things that would be Nice to accomplish.

Too date, only one of the Must items was achieved---and this done only because of an impending flood caused by last year’s leaves in the backyard ditch! I don’t know how many of the 15 or so resolutions will ever get done. However, one goal from the last group continues to interest me—the idea of returning to school.

No longer burdened by continuing education requirements or mandatory classes, the pressure to “move up or move out� is gone. I found that I could pick and choose classes that were both interesting, informative, and yes, even exciting. Last week while looking through a listing of courses for adults/seniors, I came upon a class in Basic Conversational Chinese.

For many years, and due to opening (and eating) countless Fortune Cookies, I’ve gained a very basic vocabulary of Mandarin terms. Unfortunately, the words were short, and oftentimes repeated several cookies later. It is then that the epiphany hit me. Why not put all these words together, form sentences and paragraphs, and actually learn the language. Just think, I could impress the waiter at the local Dragon Inn Restaurant, and who knows, amaze my wife and friends, and who knows, perhaps get a job as a mentor at the Olympics in Beijing! So, to that end I am learning pronunciation and vocal inflection (very critical), and seeking anyone familiar with the language to talk to me or at least send me their unopened fortune cookies!

              - The Clutterman

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