Word Trouble

One of the hardest things for me in my college Chinese classes (after memorizing food words, which I just didn't bother to do because I figured it was the least important for me to know as far as communication went) (you can imagine how that's come back to bite me) was sorting out time words.

The trick to one set of them is remembering that ancient Chinese was written and read from the top of the page to the bottom: the word for "next/after" (as in "next week") is the same as the word for "under" (下) and "before/last" and "above" are the same (上).

However, there's problem, because those before/after time words are not the same as standing in front of or behind someone. The word for standing behind someone "后" can also mean a time after the present. Used in a sentence, I would often translate "后" as "moving forward/in the future," but it also means "behind."
Conversely, the word for standing in front of someone "前" means a time before the present. So for me, I have a lot of trouble remembering that "前" means "before" in the sense of going first (as in "I stand before you"), but also means "in past time."

Considering the previous 下/上 meanings, it would seem that "前" should mean behind, if you're thinking about how words appear on a page. The word you already read is behind where you're currently reading, not in front. But these two sets of time words don't operate on the same principles! The trick with 前/后 is to think of them in motion. Take cars leaving a parking lot: a car that has left before you is in front, and a care has not yet left is behind you.

I was thinking about this because my youngest students are between the ages of three and four, so most of them have not studied English in school. I have to rely on my Chinese to get them to follow instructions, and when I'm struggling to think quickly about where I need them to stand, of course they get confused. I'm getting better at it!

However, I just finished my last regular day of teaching (everything after this is make up classes), so we'll see if I retain my progress after the lunar new year passes haha. Speaking of the new year, I'm heading back to the States soon! I'm leaving from Hong Kong on January 18th and returning to China on February 10th. I'm super excited for the possibility of snow and real cold weather!!!!

Here's a picture of the new company sign in the Donghai mall featuring my newly-added photo~

My poor co-worker had a devil of a time trying to put this up due to some miscommunication about where the display was supposed to go!

I'm right next to the street dance teacher and the juxtaposition makes me smile :)

Peace <3