Or so I thought. The one I attended for two weeks in Shijiazhuang was like an extended party. When you arrive, you can literally do as the cliché goes and stop to smell the roses as there are some growing by the gate of the newly renovated resort. Every morning, I voluntarily woke up at 6:30 to leisurely saunter to the park where I could exercise with the old folks and listen to newfound friends practice the two-stringed violin and sing Beijing opera.
我原本是这么以为的。两个星期前我也在石家庄参加了一个训练营，但那次就像是个延长的派对。到了训练营，你可以悠然自得地闻一闻门口生长的野花。每天早上，我六点半就起来了，然后在公园里悠闲地散步。我可以和公园里的老人聊天练口语，听一些新结识的朋友拉二胡、唱京剧。
But the greatest bonus of the camp by far is meeting people from all over the world who are just as crazy as you are about studying Chinese. People like Eddie Bruce, the magic carpet driver from the Caribbean who played his guitar during class breaks and who teaches his grandson Chinese calligraphy, passing on his graceful command of the strokes to the next generation of Sino-enthusiasts, and Scott Lewis, who’s aiming to master the six official languages of the United Nations because he dreams of becoming a war reporter someday. It’s discovering that everybody loses all semblance of inhibition during the karaoke nights filled with both outgoing rock star types and shy personalities breaking out of their usual quiet modes.
不过，参加训练营最大的好处就是结识来自世界各地和你同样有着中文学习热情的朋友们。从加勒比海驾着魔毯飞来的艾迪·布鲁斯在课间休息的时候会弹吉它，他还教他的小孙子写大字，一笔一划地传授给下一代中国粉丝。斯科特·刘易斯一心要掌握联合国六种官方语言，因为他的梦想是成为一名战地记者。在卡拉ok夜，每个人都脱掉了拘谨的伪装，变成了疯狂的摇滚巨星，平日羞涩寡言的人在此刻也像是变了一个人。
