I grew up around German and French culture my whole life. Being born in Germany, and having a German father but attending a French school and having a French mother, I was able to submerge myself in two different cultures at the same time. All of my friends were bilingual in a way where they spoke German and one other language, often it being French. However, my life changed when I was told I was moving to the US for 2 years in 6th grade. I had never been introduced to English at my previous school, because they prioritized German and French before anything else, so this was a huge adjustment for me. I struggled to keep up in class, and make friends because I felt like we had nothing to talk about where I could understand what they were saying. I put in so much effort to learn English and adjust to this new culture I was introduced to. This is where I realized I really liked learning new languages and learning about new cultures.
I had many different language phases. I attempted to learn Norwegian, Italian and Arabic on Duolingo, but I never felt motivated enough to sit down everyday and do the duolingo practice. Therefore, I gave up pretty quickly. However, when I moved to a new school, I was given the opportunity to take one of three offered foreign language courses. There was French, Spanish and Chinese. I spoke French already, so I knew that this wouldn’t be an interesting class, because I would naturally be ahead of everyone. I was thinking about taking Spanish, but something attracted me to the fact that no one took Chinese. Hence, being me, I decided to take Chinese. I had never tried to learn Chinese before, and I knew absolutely nothing about China. My Chinese teacher Mr. Zhi promised me on the first day of class that I would have a great experience in his class. I believed him.
From that day on, I was able to experience so many new things surrounding Chinese culture. We learned about it in class but also took field trips to local Chinese restaurants to practice our speaking skills. Every time they announced that we would be able to emerge ourselves into this culture even further, I was so excited. I enjoyed learning about China so much that my heart broke when covid shut down our planned trip to Beijing in 8th grade. I felt devastated. I had prepared this little booklet with all of the words I needed to know to communicate with people. I had photos printed out of destinations I wanted to go to. Covid shut down this dream of mine to visit China and finally be able to get the full experience.
In 9th grade, I switched schools again. This school offered a Chinese elective course. When I found out that I was able to immerse myself even further into this fascinating culture, I was excited because I knew I could fulfill my dream of successfully learning a foreign language. Every class was filled with joy and excitement from every single student. There was never a dull moment. My friend Ali and I would walk into the classroom with a big smile on our faces. I have now been apart of this course at my school for 4 years, and even with being an IBDP student, I was able to find time to pursue my passion. Many students decided to drop Chinese because it was an extra class that technically brought no significance to their GPA. But that is not how I saw it. I saw this class as an opportunity to grow as not only a student but an individual. This class has taught me how to be open minded and curious. My curiosity was driven especially towards learning this new language and being able to communicate with people from different parts of the world. And my open mindedness drove me to be interested in the stories of people from different cultures. Without this experience of being immersed into Chinese culture, I believe that I would not be as developed of a student as I am now. I thank my parents everyday – even if I don't say it to their faces – for the chance to explore a culture outside of the German and French culture that I grew up in.
