How to pass HSK level 1
HSK is the official Chinese Proficiency Test that is a great way to set goals or check your Chinese level. Sometimes having a clear goal in form of a test gets you more motivated to hit those flashcards or strike up conversations with the local Chinese. Taking HSK1 is the first step on your ladder. Just remember that you don’t study Chinese for the HSK, but use it as a tool instead. Don’t start learning Chinese by buying a HSK prep book, but try the HSK after you have studied Chinese for some time and want to see how you’re doing. HSK1 has two parts: listening and reading. The level…
A practice round at the hospital
Last Friday I started to get a bit anxious because I felt the baby haven’t been moving as much as before. Me and my husband decided to go to the emergency room to check things just in case. When we got to the hospital I saw a lovely nurse and a doctor, the emergency room was quiet and I didn’t have to wait at all because this was a special emergency room just for pregnant women. After monitoring the heartbeat and movements of the baby with a fetal monitor after half an hour, the doctor got a bit worried and tried to wake up the baby in case she was…
How to choose in which hospital to give birth in China?
The first questions that came to my mind when I found out I was pregnant was: where am I going to give birth? Unfortunately I’ve had some bad experiences with Chinese hospitals, so at first giving birth in China felt like the most dangerous thing to do. Later I realized that going back to Finland to give birth was far away from practical and I didn’t want to be separated from my husband for such a long time. Prenatal check-ups Luckily my sister-in-law is a nurse and was pregnant at the same time, so I followed her and started prenatal check-ups in her hospital with her doctor. The hospitals facilities…
Living in an urban village
For two and a half years I’ve been living in my husband’s home village. What do I mean by a village? Don’t I live in Guangzhou with a population of 14 million and huge skyscrapers? Yes, but inside this huge metropolis you can find villages with narrow lanes and alleys that take you back in time. I live in a village that has a history of more than 700 hundred years and where all the original locals share a surname. During my early years in China I dreamed of living in an old house in an ancient village, but now after two years I’ve noticed that living in a village…