I was scrolling down my Spotify list and stopped on this track. I was immediately elated as I realized that I recognise the characters and could read them. I searched for other Mandarin songs on my list and find that I know at least one or two of the characters from the song titles. Honestly, I wouldn’t even know this a month ago. Hence, I am happy that I am making very tiny progress in my Mandarin learning.

Mandarin is hard. But I love it. I don’t how some Instagrammers are able to sit their HSK1 exam in just one month. They seem to be doing it independently just based on apps and study materials they found online. Their brain must be sponges. They could be gifted. I can’t even memorize 20 characters without forgetting them again the next day. I am also keen to learn writing the words because I find that, with digital technology, I am using the pen less than usual. Everything is typed out nowadays. So I guess by practising writing Chinese characters, it would keep my fine motor muscles intact alongside optimising my brain activity.

I found out that HSK1 will be changing its format in December. Damn, I just bought the old textbooks up to HSK4. I am that determined. Anyway, I suppose the goal is to just plough through the pages and learn what I can. I am not competing for anything. This is one of those self-learning activities to hinder dementia. InsyaAllah. And perhaps in the long run, I can read nice Chinese storybooks on my own.