Chi Laoshi has asked me to share my thoughts with you about being a student in the Chinese School and to talk a little bit about my experiences last summer as a student in second year. He told me not to focus too much on how much work there is, since, he said, everyone knows that there is a lot of work. So, while I won't mention it here, you can rest assured that there is a lot of work, but let's talk about other things about the student experience at Middlebury.

Last week, as I was preparing to return to Middlebury, a friend called to wish me a good summer. As we were about to hang up, she said, "I'm glad that I got a chance to talk to you before you took your vow of silence." We laughed and joked about my return to China camp and then hung up the phone. I am sure that many of you have shared jokes like these with family and friends as you left for Middlebury–the language school with the mysterious and dreaded "language pledge." Whether you joked that it's a boot camp or the gulag or something not to be repeated in polite company, Middlebury seems like a pretty intimidating place when you are starting out. Since the pledge is perhaps the most intriguing and baffling part of the Middlebury experience, I thought I would say a word about it.

When I came here last year, I thought that there was no way the language pledge was going to work. I had received the handbook in the mail–no books in English, no magazines, no newspapers, no music–and what was the letter about being in "good physical and mental health" all about. How on earth was I going to communicate in Chinese for an entire summer? I prepared myself for a long, intellectually stunted summer of "Ni Hao" and "Tianqi hen re." It was pretty amazing when at 12 pm on the first day of classes everyone left Dana Auditorium and started speaking Chinese. I quickly realized that the language pledge was something that miraculously just happens. And somehow, I found myself speaking Chinese. You will surprise yourself when you find yourself telling a joke in Chinese, expressing an opinion, whether subtle or strong, and being sarcastic. In short, as difficult as it is to believe now, you will find your "voice" in Chinese.

I have to admit that even looking back on it now one year later, I can't believe I spent the summer speaking only Chinese with fellow students and teachers. I think back on some of the conversations I had and it is with a sense of incredulity that I think wow, I must have communicated and understood those ideas in Chinese. The language pledge is unusual, but not as strange or "foreign" as you might think.

There are of course other things to discuss about the Middlebury experience in addition to the language pledge. The people here, both students and faculty, have a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. Many have traveled to, lived in or studied China at length. Many others are planning to go in the near future. At Middlebury, you can learn not only Chinese, but also about Chinese culture, history, politics, art, etc. I know from my own experience that I have bored family and friends to death with discussions about what's going on in Beijing or the latest developments in US-China policy. At Middlebury, you can rest assured that someone will always be willing to talk about those kinds of things over lunch or dinner (maybe not breakfast, however).

I have to say a final word about the teachers here at Middlebury. Last summer, I felt that I worked hard. Each day I went to four hours of classes, I did six hours of homework, I memorized each day's characters and prepared for my daily quizzes. It was a lot of work. (I guess I said I wasn't going to talk about the work, but perhaps that is unavoidable.) And then one day, I looked up from flash cards and workbook and realized that my teachers were working harder than I was. They were preparing classes, grading homework, leading activities, and holding office hours. Throughout all of this, their enthusiasm never seemed to wane and their willingness to help me understand what we were learning often went above and beyond the call of duty. They kept us laughing, they kept us energized, and they kept us interested in studying Chinese. I raise this only to say that Middlebury is not an "us" and "them" kind of place. Students and teachers do everything together here, including work hard and that is what makes this an exceptional learning environment.

Since others will talk about "coping strategies" I won't say much here. I will say that the key, I think, to my having a good experience here last summer was enthusiasm. I never lost sight of why I chose to come here in the first place. I want and need to learn Chinese. For whatever reason, I imagine the same goes for the rest of you. Every time you open your mouth, write down a character, watch a film, or go to a soccer game, you will be getting closer to that goal. Before coming to Middlebury, I had studied a bit of Chinese here and there and whenever anyone asked the question "Do you speak Chinese" I would hem and haw a bit and say I had studied some and I spoke a little, but I wasn't very good, etc. After Middlebury, when someone asks you whether you speak Chinese, you can answer definitively and with pride, "yes."

About the Speaker: Amy Gadsden attended the Chinese School in the Summer of 1998 where she studied in the Intermediate Level Course, and in 1999, when she returned to the Chinese School to study in the Advanced Level.