HSK exam

I recently took my first HSK exam which is the official testing system to grade a foreigner's level of Chinese language comprehension.  HSK stands for Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi which translates to 'Chinese Level/Proficiency Exam'.  There are 6 levels that a person can reach.

I wrote my level 2 exam which isn't all that much of an accomplishment.  Anyone studying Chinese for over 6 months should be able to easily pass the test.  I was, however, setting my challenge to ace the exam.  (still awaiting results but I don't think I managed to get 100%).

I took the studying rather seriously but I was writing on the same day as two friends, one taking level 4 and one taking level 5, in other words, they were taking the real Chinese exams.  Compared to them mine was pretty much stress free.  It was more stressful trying to get to find the test venue since, in typical fashion, I booked the exam without checking where it was ahead of time and scrambled to find in time.

Despite my test being simple I still went to my next Chinese class with a little bit of pride in completing my level 2.  So much so that I showed my teacher a photo of myself in the exam room sitting in front of the computer at a desk made for much shorter people than me.

pre-test smirk

On an aside, I firmly believe my Chinese teacher enjoys our lessons more than I do.  I basically put on a one hour comedy show for her, three times a week.   Some of this is intentional as I make jokes and tell stories and some of it is just her laughing at my mistakes...as teachers should.  I know I did.

Back to the picture.  When she saw it she said 'David, you look so handsome!'  (of course)  Then she said 'You are 很上像’   I didn't know these words so she translated for me.   With a straight face she tells me  'It's something we say to people who look so much better in pictures than they do in real life.'

So, it turns out she's a bit of a comedian herself.