s-still hiatusing

[redhaired_anita]

So for those who didn't know, for the last two weeks I've been hiatusing due to RL taking precedence over Anita. I was totally planning on coming back this week, given the last week of the holiday and all, BUT:

I have 20-ish short stories to edit by the end of this week. Written by Chinese university students learning English and with no prior

Comments

[its_sho_time]

Oh time. Why must you hate us so? Good luck with everything dear.

[redhaired_anita]

All I'm asking is WTF HAPPENED TO MY HOLIDAY

[its_sho_time]

Life ate it. It did the same to my vacation time.

[redhaired_anita]

It's not faaaaaair I want to spend tomorrow loafing around not reading 15 Engrish stories that make me sad. T.T

[its_sho_time]

*pet pet pet*

Wow, that's some strong engrish.

[redhaired_anita]

*is petted!*

And they are EDUCATED PEOPLE but totally unfamiliar with casual English conversation.

At least it's improved from their first round. I totally gave up that time.

[height_rule]

I've been helping my mom with hers so I know that it really doesn't have anything to do with education, just practice. Mind, her has never been strong enough for me to give up.

[redhaired_anita]

Yeah, that's what keeps me from ripping it up. I know they're smart and they've done their best, but on top of lack of English exposure (outside of a textbook), they also don't have any writing experience. Chinese education systems favour memorization; the language itself doesn't leave much time to study past vocab and grammar.

[height_rule]

Oh wow. Never knew that. Doesn't that cause problems for future novelists and the sort?

[redhaired_anita]

If you've ever read a classical Chinese novel, like Dream of the Red Chamber...they tend to go off on really random tangents for no reason. I don't know if it's because they don't know any better or this is honestly how they're taught.

(I read the abridged version, and it'll spend the chapter talking about how one character goes to school and another character moans about life and the last sentence will say "and then a maid killed herself". I hope it's because it's abridged that it's so...random.)

Personally, I don't know about novels - my Chinese isn't good enough to read them. But most adults have no experience writing anything past, say, a professional report or memo.

[height_rule]

:( I guess they don't really need it but man, it'd make me sad. I love reading random writings.

[redhaired_anita]

+400 characters, +80 chapters and the original author died before it could be published. It's messy. I liked it, but I'd never manage the real thing.

[height_rule]

400 characters....wow.

[redhaired_anita]

Oh scholars. Really didn't have much else to do with their time. u.u