It is nearly summer in New Zealand, so in this post, Patricia talks about summer.

If you think of summer – what comes into your mind? I think everyone thinks about vacations when they think about summer. I know I do. Of course when I was a student, summer was also the time when I could work at two or three jobs to save enough money for the next year – so I guess I have those memories too. Hard work and long days but feeling happy because I was saving money.

The meaning of summer also depends on what part of the world you live in – for many of us, summer also means Christmas and New Year.

Maybe the strongest memories we have, are about celebrations and festivals. So you might think about cherry blossom viewing or Chinese New Year or Easter, when you think about the seasons.

How about spring? Or winter? Or autumn?  What do these seasons mean to you?

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

Every morning, around sunrise, I hear the birds start to sing in our garden.

Many different kinds of birds come to our garden. Of course we see sparrows, thrushes and blackbirds. You can see these birds in many countries.

But we also have different bird visitors. These birds visit our garden when there are good things for them to eat.  Outside our front door is a tree that has small black berries at some times of the year. Riroriro like these berries. Riroriro are very, very small birds, and they are hard to see, but I can hear them singing.

Other bigger birds come to the garden as well. We have kowhai trees in our garden and when the kowhai trees have flowers, we have many tuis flying about. I can hear them now. They are very cheeky, noisy birds.

Bigger birds come to our garden in summer. They are kereru. These birds always make me laugh. They do not fly well and they fly close to the ground. They are often fat. We can hear the sound of their wings but they do not sing.  They like the fruit of the kawakawa trees, but sometimes they eat so much, they fall off the trees and have to sit on the ground! They are not very smart birds but I like them!

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

Have you ever been to Wellington in New Zealand? It is a beautiful city with a big harbour. Most of the houses are on the hills, and it has a cable car. Some people think that Wellington is a smaller version of San Francisco.

But there is one big difference between Wellington and San Francisco. Wellington is the world’s windiest city.

On average, every year there are 22 days when the wind speed is more than 74 km/hr (21m/s), and 173 days when the wind speed is more than 59 km/hr (16.4 m/s). Of course, the wind is often very much stronger than that.

It will not surprise you to read that the Wellington rugby team is called the Hurricanes.

All that wind! But it is not all bad. Wellington has no air pollution so it is really a very healthy place to live!

by Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

I have set some language learning goals. I study better when I have a goal. There are so many languages I want to learn. However, I want to reach a high level in each language, so I need to focus.

These are my goals:

2020: Pass levels 3 and 4 on the Chinese HSK test, and the Korean TOPIK elementary level.

2021: Pass level 5 on the Chinese HSK test, and the Korean TOPIK intermediate level

2022: Pass level 6 on the Chinese HSK test, and the Korean TOPIK advanced level

2023 – 2024 Pass levels 3,2,1 on the French test (仏検）

I want to learn many other languages, so I think I will learn the basics of a few on Duolingo in my spare time. Russian and Arabic look interesting.

Having goals really helps me to focus. How about you?

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

I love studying languages, so I am trying to find more time to study. I want to study every day. I also want to exercise every day. So, I decided to combine the two, and exercise and study at the same time.

I have an exercise bike in my house. This is an indoor bike. (It is not the bike in the photo!) I try to use it for 30 minutes every day. While I am on the exercise bike, I read one of my textbooks. I learn new words or grammar. While I am studying, the time seems to pass really quickly.

I tried studying when I go running. I tried to listen to the audio for my textbooks instead of listening to music, but this didn’t work. I need music when I run. I am learning Chinese, so I should look for some Chinese music to listen to while I run.

There are many times in the day when I can study while doing something else. When I clean, I listen to the audio of my textbook or listening practice on YouTube. When I drive, I listen to the audio of my vocabulary book.

There is always more time to study. Studying and exercising together is a good combination for me. I feel healthy and I learn some new things!

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

Over summer, it was too hot to go running outside, so I went to the gym instead. I like the gym because I can use the weights, machines and other equipment after using the treadmill. However, we are only allowed to use the treadmills for 30 minutes at a time. I like to run for an hour or more.

Now that it is getting cooler, I’m going to start running outside again. I am also going to continue going to the gym. I think weight training is important, and it is also fun. The gym also has a rowing machine. Not many people use it, so it is usually free when I go.

The gym is good, but I still think running outside is better. I like the breeze and the fresh air, and I like being outside. I also like running long distances. I usually run 10km, but this autumn, I want to run 15km or 20km. Eventually, I’d like to run a half marathon, and then maybe a full marathon, but I’ll have to train harder for that!

I belong to a running club. Many members continued running through the summer. They ran early in the morning or late at night. I work early in the morning and at night, so my time to exercise is the afternoon – the hottest part of the day. I haven’t run outside for three months. It’s time to start again.

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

I decided to keep a diary in Chinese. When I study Chinese, I read, listen and speak it, but I rarely write it. Writing is important. On the HSK test, there are some writing questions, so I need to be able to write.

Also, writing is output. I need more output. I practice speaking with my teacher once a week, but this is not enough. I need to practice more. When I have my Chinese lesson, I ask my teacher to correct my mistakes, and then we talk about the content of my diary.

When I write in my diary, I use the grammar patterns I have studied. I try to use the vocabulary I have studied too. This helps me to remember words and phrases.

I don’t write in my diary every day. I usually write once or twice a week. I want to write more though. I will try to schedule more time into my days to write.

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press