Studying Chinese

This is a picture of my textbook. I think will help everyone get an idea of what it is like to look at Chinese text. There are many characters in Chinese. My knowledge of Japanese helps to know many Chinese characters, but there are still many that are new to me. Also, the Chinese in mainland China have simplified the characters so that they sometimes look a little different than what I have seen before. I see many Chinese students study very hard everyday. I see many outside every morning when I wake up reciting texts aloud. I see classrooms packed with students late into the night studying by themselves. It seems many students push themselves very hard. Maybe that is all they know. In order to pass the examinations to get into Renmin University, these kids had to eat, drink and sleep study. The competition to get into the best schools is fierce. Going into an elite school is still the most traditional and common of way of becoming successful in China. Seeing them study so hard has insprired me to work harder and use every available moment to try and get more into my head such as buying a radio to listen to Chinese while I am walking around campus.