Illiterate in China......

Max the Cat says to watch for a better post tomorrow, describing Lucy Blue's wacky adventure in Indianapolis over the weekend.
So....I'm taking Mandarin Chinese. Elementary Chinese 131, to be exact. I'm just "sitting in" on the class, which, in my opinion, is a little more loose than "auditing." It's up to me as to whether I want to turn in homework, take the quizzes and tests, etc. I like that part. I probably would have performed much better in my college days if I'd had those choices. :) Chinese is a very difficult language. I think I'll be satisfied if I can just speak and understand. This class teaches speaking, listening, reading and writing. Remembering how to write Chinese characters may be just too difficult for this "adult" student. Some characters have 10-12 strokes and....well, it's just not English, ya know? In the "dialogue" above it goes like this: Hello! Hello! Please, may I ask you what your family name is? My family name is Smith. What is your family name? My family name is Jones." Very simple, but very hard to read in Chinese characters. I have class every day from 11 to 12 and am using my lunch hour to attend. I can hear at least one person saying, "I wonder how long she will stick with this?" No. Wait a minute. It would be more like, "I'm betting this won't last long." Maybe. But at least I tried.