Day 2 of chinese class

I've started taking Chinese classes at a community college and I believe that I may have over estimated my ability of speaking in Mandirne prior to that class. We focused most of our time on the four tones.
{When speking in Manderine, four tones are usually used. The first tone, represented by one horizontal line above the pinyin (romanization of chances characters), is a medium length flat tone. It is in the higher pitch range of one's voice (which brings me to point two, but I can save that for later.)
Tone two, the rising tone, starts from a lower end of the vocal range and ends at a higher pitch
Tone three, the"U", Starts high thane lowers and ends back at a high pitch.
Tone four, "the commander", Its short and starts high and ends low.( Like when a commander shouts an order.


Change in your voice.
When speaking english I've noticed my voice remains within a short range of pitches. When I speak in french my voice gets deeper. I think my deeper voice helps me make that nasally sound that comes with speaking french. When I need to do a lot of vocal manipulation, like in Chinese or Japanese, I start off higher so I won't have to over compensate. That being said, I hear a lot of complaints about how annoying an "otaku/weeaboo/squirrel voice can be.Once you begin to learn different languages you will notice that your voice changes naturally. This will help, but I feel my self stumbling over tones and I find my self getting embarrassed. Even if no one is around, I still feel embarrassed.


Feeling embarrassed.
Learning can only be done with the accompaniment of mistakes. I know that the uncomfortable feeling means I'm growing, but I wish the feeling wasn't so strong.

One Day At A Time! 加油！

A long road ahead

I'm not sure where to start when it comes to being a translator. Almost major and job description is written out step by step except the ones I'm interested in. I've decided to jot down the things I've learned just incase anyone else is interested in becoming a translator/interpreter.
I know I will make a lot of mistakes, butI suppose that's what I like about learning new things. It's perfectly okay, expectable, expected. I chose this major, because I don't ever want to stop learning.

Where do I go from here?
I'm not really sure, I'm still feeling my way around, but I do know fluency in your target language is mandatory  . Certifications are preferred, and experience is a bonus. (for now anyway)

对不i起我的中文不好 and other things I find myself thinking

对不i起我的中文不好 (dui buqi wo de zhongwen bu hao) or I'm sorry my chinese is bad.

[direct translation: sorry I particle word for possession chinese language no good] 

I find learning a new language can be daunting to say the least. Trying new things is a great way to being a well rounded individual, however the fact that other people will have to hear you potentially botch their mother tough lingers in the forefront of my mind when speaking. This in itself causes more problems than being slightly nervous. In English, a person raises their tone of voice when questioning something. This would usually be harmless because it doesn't change the meaning of what's being conveyed. This is not the case when learning Mandarin. This habit, if left unchecked, will leave you sounding like you have never composed a sentence in your life. 别担心（don't worry) Practice makes perfect. The more you speak the easier it'll become. 加油！ 

今天几月几号？ And other frequently regurgitated phrases

今天几月几号？ (jin tian ji yue ji hao ?) or basically asking what the date is in mandarin chinese.
[Direct translation: today measure word month measure word number/today month's number date number?]
After studying Mandarin religiously, and falling off the track just as frequently some phrases pop into my head randomly. I used to find this irritating, especially when i knew how to say it in Chinese, but not the english definition. Lately, however, I've come to appreciate these random sports of recollection and used them as inspiration to get back to studying. I've also realized the phrases I've studied the most come back the easiest, so when you have those memory regurgitation fits don't worry, it means you actually learned something.

别担心！！