Skip to main content

学中文带给我的成长

This is my first blog post in Chinese. It required a lot of feedback from my mom. Try reading this! 

        有件事会可能让你们感到惊讶:我小时候很不喜欢学中文。我真的不在开玩笑。在我搬到台湾之前,我住在科罗拉多州。虽然那里的生活带给我美好的童年回忆,但是因为我的社区和学校很少华人,所以我讨厌每个星期天上中文学校。如果日常生活中只需要讲英文,那学中文的目的到底是什么?我在课堂里常常会觉得无聊,不会认真的听课。我从五岁开始上中文课,但是三年后,我的中文还是不怎么样。想起十年前的我让我感到羞愧和遗憾!

我八岁搬去台湾后,我对中文的学习态度开始改变了。台湾激了发我对中文的热爱。三年级到五年级,我上了一个双语学校,每天有中文课。在第一个学期,我分到最低级的中文班。班里只有三个学生,所以我常常得到老师的关注。这种学习环境对我很好,因为我得到很多鼓励。过了一两个月后,我学到很多新的单词和语法,进步很大。我发现如果我天天努力地学一个语言,我一定会有所收获。跟美国的中文相比,台湾的中文课更有趣因为台湾的教材和教育方式更丰富多彩。我从中文课逐渐地学到中国的传统文化和历史,比如说元宵节灯笼的由来。这些经历帮助我了解华人的文化和根,也帮我明白我是谁。如果我没有住过台湾,我不会回答这个问题。

上完七年级后,我搬回美国加州,然后我的中文就开始慢慢地退步。这让我很不开心。虽然我周末上中文学校,我一开始在低级班因为我对简体字不太熟悉。几个月后我转到高级班。即使在高级班,我没有学到什么新知识。我没有感受到像台湾中文课带给我的挑战,让我失去了对中文的热忱。因为我九年级考了AP中文,从十年级开始我没有上中文。

在疫情期间,有一天我打开以前留下来的中文课本和练习本。我发现我不只忘记了怎么写和认很多繁体字,而且还忘记了很多古诗和故事。这让我感到伤心和失望。我花了那么多年在台湾学中文,但回到美国后我都把这些知识还给了老师。有时,我觉得离开台湾越旧,让我离我的华人认同越淡。我还是真真的华人吗?

在申请大学的过程中,我发现我非常关注大学提供跟中国和中文相关的人文课程。上大学之前,我很期待在大学里能上这些中文课。这个学期,我选修了商业中文,是我这个学期最喜欢的课。我不但学到正式的商业用语,而且了解到中国近二三十年的经济发展。我希望在大学期间可以辅修中文。我不仅想要学更多中文,而且还想参MIT在中国或台湾的实习机会。



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

YearCompass 2022-2023

 2022 had its highest highs and lowest lows. My freshman spring semester was not good, but at least I had the motivation to do well. Summer was probably the closest thing to utopia. Sophomore fall started off fine, but things eventually became a disaster and I am not exaggerating when I use the word "disaster."  Despite being aware of the many failures of this year, I think it is good for me to reflect upon 2022 and establish some goals and resolutions for 2023. Unlike previous years, I decided to give YearCompass a try since YearCompass provides a thorough examination and allows for deep contemplation.  Calendar Go through your calendar week by week. If you see an important event, family gathering, friendly get-together or a significant project, write it down here. Jan. 28-Jan. 30: NYC trip  Feb. 19: first BSO concert (Mozart and Bruckner) Mar. 20-Mar. 25: Washington DC trip  Apr. 16: Parkrun 5k May 11: Evgeny Kissin  Jun. 26: BAA 10k Jul. 24: Revere Beach...

My Accepted BU RISE Essays

BU RISE is a 6-week research program at Boston University. In 2019, the acceptance rate was around 16% so it is a selective program. There are two tracks- internship and practicum. The internship is the one I applied to because I wanted to work in a lab. Unfortunately, BU RISE in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19. If you are applying to BU RISE, these essays may be a source of inspiration.  1.Why you selected your field of interest and what you would like to research (300 words)  First choice: medical laboratory research (biochemistry) Second choice: chemistry  Ever since 2018, I participated in a Science Olympiad event called Protein Modeling that sparked my interest in proteins. When I learned about the anti-CRISPR protein, it alarmed me that the protein stopped CRISPR from working. Wondering how this could happen, I used Jmol to build and visualize the protein model. Over time, I no longer viewed proteins as messy globs. Instead, I appreciated that the protein’s disti...

The Frustrations of Wet Lab

     I am sitting at my desk in the lab, still mad and frustrated that I can’t even pipette properly. My cell counter results are dismal. I don’t know why I am getting such poor percentages for cell viability – I should be getting at least 90%, not 47%. I followed what my supervisor did an hour ago: perform a serial dilution four times, pipette trypan blue into each of the four wells, then pipette a bit of sample into the cell counter plate.       Fortunately, my supervisor came into the cell room to check on me and helped me with pipetting for the cell counter step. He got 89%, close to the ideal threshold. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. I could sense that his voice was tinged with frustration, which I understood. I was also mad for not having an answer. What exactly was wrong with my pipetting technique? Did I pipette too quickly, or did I not press the plunger correctly?       The whole cell counter incident frustrates ...