Personal Narrative: My First Trip To China

I am an “ABC”, an American-born Chinese. That was the first thing I learned on my first trip to China, in 2002. I was five; I don’t remember much other than it was hot and I didn’t understand what anybody was saying. I felt confused and out of place. These feelings were only reinforced on my second trip to China, for the World Expo, in 2010. I still didn’t know how to speak the language- despite my relatives constant claiming that they would teach me. I was ashamed and embarrassed that I still didn’t know how to speak Chinese, or truly understand the culture.
I figured these feelings were temporary and that they would go away. However, every so often I would be reminded of the feelings by relatives asking if I could understand different words or phrases. I knew that I would learn it one day and be able to talk to my relatives in their …show more content…
I began researching different ways in which I could take lessons in-person or electronically learn Chinese. After browsing through many different options, I finally decided to attend classes at a local university. After expressing my plan to my family, they readily agreed and said that it was a class that my younger brother and I needed to take. Once my aunt and uncle had heard of the plan they also decided to sign up their children for the class. If I was nervous at first, I wasn’t anymore. This class became a family affair. The children (including me) were able to practice our newfound skills and communicate with our proud family members. From then on the new generation of my family was able to learn and grow together. I was proud that I was able to take a personal loss and make it a learning experience for me and my entire family. I learned that any loss or misstep provides an opportunity to gain new knowledge and develop more as a person. I am now able to understand and communicate the language all while continuing to learn more and more about my