Update: I Will Be Taking The HSK4 Exam In September At My Home University, As I Can Do HSK And HSKK Separately

Update: I will be taking the HSK4 exam in September at my home university, as I can do HSK and HSKK separately or not do the HSKK at all, which is not an option at my exchange uni here.

Considering my past attempt, I think leaving the HSKK part alone for the foreseeable future is for the best, as my nervous system is unlikely to withstand another computer on-campus speaking exam.

Pondering whether or not to re-take the HSK4 exam (without the speaking this time) since I failed to meet the passing mark by around 10 points last time and I refuse to believe that the past few months of studying wouldn't be able to give me that boost.

Study Musings #1

Trying to finish my presentation and inevitably spending at least half an hour trying to pick the perfect template only to finally end up choosing the original template that I was considering.

BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD! Once you are given this award you're supposed to paste it in the asks of 8 people who deserve it. If you break the chain nothing happens, but it's sweet to know someone thinks you're beautiful inside and out <33

Aww thank you!🥺💖💖 <3

I FINALLY finished reading Master and Margarita.

I have no words to describe just how long it took me to finish reading this one single book, but now that I did I can finally cross it out on my main reading list after it has been waiting there ever since the pandemic.

That's why I decided to finally get around watching the most recent Master and Margarita movie and honestly? Not bad.

Plotwise I think they did great considering the amount of material that they had to fit into a 2hr 30min-ish movie.

The casting was spot-on, the German actor August Diehl played Woland/The Devil, which was really surprising as his Russian was really good.

Another pleasant surprise was that the actor who played Satan (Yuri Kolokolnikov, he was also in GoT!) in Doomsday/Конец света starred along as Koroviev, which really showed a new interesting side to his acting.

Music, costumes and especially the scenery was really good, my only slight disappointment was that Behemoth the cat got significantly less screen-time and that he wasn't as behemoth and chaotic as described (see below - I just think that the movie Behemoth doesn't really match the energy of the book Behemoth)

Nonetheless, it's a solid 8 from me, so I recommend checking out Мастер и Маргарита/ Master and Margarita!

Yangs (扬) vs Changs (场) vs Tangs (汤)

These can get confusing, so here are some of the most common words that use this radical 昜 explained.

场 (chǎng)

A measure word for sports or leisure activities e.g. 一场足球比赛

A large place such as an open space, a field or a venue e.g. 会场 (a conference hall)

畅 (chàng)

An adjective meaning smooth or at ease or free from worry

A surname

玚 (cháng)

An old word (rarely used nowadays) meaning jade used in sacrificial ceremonies.

肠 (cháng)

Intestines or sausages

汤 (tāng)

Soup

Hot or boiling water

A surname

杨 (yáng)

A willow but it's more close to it's scientific name poplar in meaning

A surname

扬 (yáng)

To raise something e.g. 扬手

To toss or throw something up

A surname

炀 (yáng)

A literary term for smelting or melting something

旸 (yáng)

Sunshine or a rising sun

飏 (yáng)

To soar, fly or float

疡 (yáng)

A medical term for sores or an ulcer

钖 (yáng)

An ornament on a horse's head stall (oddly specific)