Hold on to your space seats, because the story time U.F.O. is back at it again, zapping fresh stories straight from the mothership into your inbox! 🛸 If you’ve been following my blog or my ShachemLieuw YouTube channel for a while, you probably already know I’ve been deep-diving into learning Mandarin and exploring more about my Chinese heritage. Well, my latest mission involved signing up for a wood seal carving class, and I liked it so much that I’ve officially decided to purchase a wood seal carving kit and turn this into a permanent hobby! 🧰✍️ Fun plot twist: we didn't actually work with real wood. We got to practice on erasers! But it was still super fun learning all the traditional carving techniques. (For those wondering, the Chinese carving knife used for this is called an intou or bidao —often referred to as an iron pen or a graver!) The class went pretty in-depth about the history of seal carving in China. Historically, seals (or chops) served as powerful credential...
If you’ve been following my journey here at Story Time Productions, you know I’m always looking for new ways to sharpen my craft and expand the horizons of our stories. Back in October, I decided to take a leap into something completely different: I signed up for the HSK 1 course at the Confucius Institute right here in Suriname.
📚 Three Months of Hustle
I’ll be honest—learning a language as intricate as Chinese is like learning to see the world through a whole new lens. It was a whirlwind three months of characters, tones, and grammar. But the hard work paid off! I officially passed my exam for lessons 1–8, and I am hyped to announce that I’m moving straight into the next course. 🚀
🎬 The Vlog: Closing Ceremony Vibes
In today’s episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of our Closing Ceremony. It was such an inspiring atmosphere! You’ll get to see:
Snippets of the official speeches.
Talented students from various levels showcase what they learned.
The vibrant energy of our local community embraces a global culture.
Check out the vlog below to see the highlights! 👇
🎤 A Moment of "No Reason."
I have a small confession... I was so focused on my own performance that I couldn’t get footage of myself on stage! 😅
I performed a song called "No Reason"—or Méi Yǒu Lǐ Yóu (没有理由) by Ryan B. It’s a smooth, melancholic R&B track about the struggle of letting go and that lonely feeling when a relationship fades away without a clear explanation. Even though I didn't catch it on film this time, singing those lyrics in front of my peers felt like a massive milestone for my Mandarin progress.
🪜 The First Step of the Staircase
This is just the first step of my HSK journey. As a writer, I don’t just want to "get by"—I want to reach the top. Why? Because the more I learn, the more I can evolve these Story Time episodes for our incredibly diverse international audience. 🌍
Thank you for being part of this journey. Keep subscribing and keep jumping onto the Story Time U.F.O. for more unique stories born in and from the heart of tropical Suriname. 🛸
Wish me luck as I climb onto the first step of this HSK mountain! ✍️🏮
.jpg "\"Shachem Lieuw & Zhao Lao Shi at the Closing Ceremony of Confucius Institute Suriname\"")
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