I love learning new languages and about different cultures. The love I have for that kind of knowledge most likely comes from the diversity of my family. We are from all over the place; my dad is from the UK with Indian and Iranian blood, and my mom is from the Czech Republic with distant roots from France and Hungary. Now we are living in the US, and I am attending an International school with people from many parts of the world. Being a part of the IB program, my school serves students the opportunity of learning different languages apart from English, which are Spanish and French. But, in middle school, there is a third option as an elective: Chinese. The moment we were informed that we could learn it, I didn’t hesitate once when I determined that I was going to take that opportunity.
Given that my family doesn’t have any relatives from or relations with China, my prior knowledge of the culture was very minimal. One of the only times I was able to experience and learn about the culture before was when I was in primary school. Every year during the time of the Lunar New Year, a Lion Dance would take place in the gym. I was fascinated by the style and movement of the dance. It was unlike anything I had seen, opening my mind more about the difference between cultures. Apart from the Lion Dances at my primary school, I knew almost nothing about the culture of China, but that was until I came to middle school. I chose my elective to be Chinese. Unlike the other electives, which usually last one semester or a year, this one makes a three year (entire middle school) commitment. I understood why it lasted that long, because learning a new language takes a lot of time and patience, especially if it’s not similar to the one you speak. That’s one of the reasons why I chose to learn Chinese: I love a good challenge. But the main thing that influenced me into wanting to learn it was its culture. I can already say that only after two years of studying this language, I have learned so much.
Chinese may be one of the hardest languages to learn in the world, but to me, it is also one of the most beautiful languages. The special technique of the calligraphy and the different characters really reflect the culture of China and how it has evolved with time. My teachers enlightened me with the fact that just one character can have so much symbolism. The shapes and the radicals all represent different things, which makes the language so unique and amazing to learn. Though, the characters aren’t the only factor with deep meaning, but also Chinese food. For example, during the Lunar New Year, fish symbolizes prosperity, therefore people eat it in hopes of becoming prosperous in the coming year. Another example is an apple, symbolizing peace and harmony. These foods are two of many that bring good luck in Chinese culture. Despite having started learning the language and all of this knowledge, I had never actually tried Chinese food before. During my first year of learning Chinese, all the classes taking this elective in both middle and high school went on a field trip together to Hong Kong Pearl Seafood restaurant. Reading through the menu, everything looked delicious. But the first new dish I tried was sticky rice wrapped in steamed lotus leaves. The second I tasted it, I couldn’t stop eating. After finishing, I then had fresh, warm egg custard. Those dishes are probably one of my favorites overall of any kind of food, putting Chinese among my favorite cuisines. Once I started middle school and went on these kinds of field trips, I had also wanted to be exposed to Chinese culture outside of school. One time there was a Chinese festival going on. There were stalls put up, lining the streets and people crowding them. My family and I decided that it would be nice to go there and see what there was to offer. We did so many fun activities: calligraphy, trying on traditional Chinese outfits, and shopping for lanterns. I hope to go to more festivals like these in the future.
Learning about the language and tasting different foods weren’t the only things we have done at school, but also cultural traditions. Last year in seventh grade for the Lunar New Year, my classmates and I did a Dragon Dance. I had only seen some clips of Dragon Dances before, and it wasn’t until I did it with my class that I learned the meaning behind it. The Dragon Dance and the drums in the background are performed to make all the bad luck go away with the dragon chasing after the pearl (also known as the Pearl of Wisdom) for good luck. This is also what the Lion Dance symbolizes, except without the pearl and the drums represent its heartbeat. Doing the Dragon Dance and learning about it was very fun. The process of working with my classmates to move the body of the dragon was an interesting experience, and after a lot of practice, we managed to perform the Dragon Dance well with smooth movements and swift actions. While this was enjoyable, we have yet another exciting event coming up this year in eighth grade. If it is possible, every year the eighth graders go on a trip to mainland China or Taiwan to get a real sense of the Chinese culture within the countries themselves. All the hard work in learning Chinese pays off when we get to go to one of these countries and we are able to speak the language while at the same time knowing about the culture. It’s going to be incredible if and when we go at the end of the school year!
Though this is my last year of middle school, it is definitely not my last year of learning Chinese. I intend to continue in high school and let myself be enveloped in more knowledge of this wonderful culture full of new and exciting things to learn. And there is one thing I know for sure, and it’s that no matter where you are from or where you live, it is always an amazing opportunity to learn new languages, even if you may not be related to them at all. You should always keep a diverse mindset and accept different peoples for who they are, they’re values, beliefs, traditions, and celebrations. Learning Chinese has helped me acknowledge this, and I hope it helps others too when learning about and experiencing new cultures.
