People always ask me why I never quit Chinese after sixteen years? Why do I throw away my relaxing Friday nights to learn this difficult language? First of all, my family is from Taiwan. My aunts and several of my cousins do not know how to speak English fluently. That is why it is crucial for me to learn Mandarin, so I am able to communicate with them. I feel like if I did not have the ability to talk to my grandma, it would be extremely hard to develop a close relationship with her or any of my other ancestors.

I started learning Mandarin in kindergarten, and I do not want to stop now. I have the desire to complete Chinese School because I have always believed that one must finish what he starts. To me, it is worthwhile to sit in a classroom for two hours and learn about my ancestors’ culture and how they got to where they are now. One of my Chinese teachers even told me that I didn’t have an English accent when I spoke in Mandarin, so it sounds like I’m exceptional at it. But, actually I’m far from that high level. I have made many friends along the way and have created lots of memories too, which is something I’ve enjoyed.

The knowledge of Mandarin comes with various benefits because China is growing into a populated, strong country. It will be useful to have this skill in the future and have a voice in issues with China. Mandarin has also given me a chance to volunteer at different organizations, which I may not have done if I did not know the language. Last summer, I applied to be a counselor for a Chinese culture camp. I was accepted and experienced a week of leading third to fourth graders with other counselors by my side. Even though these kids were hard to control, it was great to bond and relate to them through games, performances, dances and classroom work, such as, arts and crafts. The teachers always spoke in Chinese so it was interesting to see the children’s response to questions about the zodiac or about Chinese medicine. I’m happy that I participated because I love working with younger kids, and seeing the steps that the young generation was taking in learning Chinese touched me.

Another area I’m spending time at is this Fellowship for Ro Khanna’s Campaign for Congress. I just started helping with the Chinese phone bank there, and it allows me to talk with strangers on the phone in Mandarin to try to convince them to vote for the candidate. During this process, I learned how to deal with all kinds of people and improved my technique on the dialect.

Combining these two involvements, Next Step China is the “next step” for me to go farther with the Chinese language. For next summer, I’m considering Next Step China as an option to apply for an internship or even to teach English in China. I would be teaching other people a brand new language, rather than sitting at my desk just taking in Chinese vocabulary words. It would provide me a different perspective, which is a positive takeaway at this point in life.

Essay by: Joseph Kao