So this is it — I’ve decided not to write in Chinese anymore here on my website. Reasons being:
1. I need to practise English. The other day after an interview I was going to Jorvas with the interviewer.
He said, “Your English is good, better than most Chinese I’ve interviewed”.
I smiled, “I heard of the saying that when one is complimented that his English is good, it means he’s still not so good compared with native speakers”.
“That’s true.”
Then I explained, “My English isn’t as good as you’ve just seen; but I’m not afraid of speaking out and making mistakes; I don’t really like to hang out with Chinese either. I’m now in a foreign environment and I need to take advantage of this. Spending all days with a bunch of Chinese makes me feel like I’m still in China. And by the way, I’m not much a fan of China.”
Again I complimented him, “”Are you a Swedish-speaking-Finn? ‘Cause most Finns I’ve met don’t seem interested in Swedish — you talked to me in Swedish during the interview.”
“No, my mother tongue is Finnish. Most Finns study Swedish in school and they seldom find it useful. For me I go to Stockholm quite often and I’ve worked there for quite a period, so I got practising Swedish everyday with the Swedes.”
So that’s my point. Practice makes perfect.
2. I want to help the one I love with her English. I believe she is the only one seriously following my blog. She has read every single entry I posted here. By switching the language it may remind her keeping practising English.
3. I don’t have Chinese input in most of my OS’s. English is ubiquitous.
That was the preface. (*Long* preface as always, huh?)
Back to the interviewer I mentioned above. I met him again the other day in the restaurant. He looked at my ID badge and said, “Now you just started here and I’m leaving the company.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to a start-up.”
I was surprised, “What kind of company are you starting up?”
“No, I’m not starting up my own company. I’m working with others.”
He told me their idea, sounds pretty promising. I was still surprised. Leaving a Chief Scientist position sounds like crazy for me. But I admire his courage. People do think differently.
This evening I was just opening my door and going cooking, when the girl across the hall opened her door at the same time. I said hi and she nodded back.
“By the way,” she went in and came out again, holding “The Epoch Times”, “is this your magazine? ‘Cause it’s Chinese.”
“No… But it’s kinda ‘illegal’ newspaper from the perspective of Chinese government.”
I took the newspaper and found here room number and my name written on it.
“Shit, where the hell did they get my name, and why they put her address.” I said to myself.
It was my first time talking talking with her and it turns out she’s planning to visit Beijing during the Christmas this year. She booked the ticked today and she wanted to go there because she “hates Christmas and the church”. She’s from Germany and has been here for several years. She first came to Finland as an high school exchange student and then got enrolled in the university.
“But I’m not really studying here. I’m working in a day-care and I’m transfering to the University of Amsterdam by the end of June. I have to study Dutch now.”
“But isn’t Dutch quite close to German?”
“Yes but I have to be as fluent as the native. I was studying Chinese but now I have to give my time to Dutch.”
I was surprised, again. Here when you talk to people you will aways be surprised, they always have something you’ve never thought of. She said two sentences in Chinese, not bad at all.
“I hope I can speak some Chinese when I arrive at Beijing.”
That may be one of the reasons why Chinese are so lagged behind. We talk too much but don’t know how to turn the big plans into actions. I’m ashamed of that.
Now I have two more reasons for not using Chinese anymore:
4. It’s much easier to record my daily life using English. I don’t have to translate everything into Chinese, which is really a pain in the ass.
5. English looks better with my current website template.
That’s it.