#美国人在中国##汉语学习##看中美文化差异性##外国人在中国#
This is the 4,130th real story we have told
I am Will Mannon, and my Chinese name is Ma Xiaowei, which was given by the Chinese teacher.
"There are five people in my family, my parents, my sisters and me." This is the Chinese sentence I know the most.
(Our Family)
I am American, born in 1993 and raised in Virginia. Before the three of us were born, my father was in the Navy and was often away from home. Mom also has her own job.
Later, my father left the Navy and entered the real estate industry, working as a developer, and invested in Marriott hotels on the East Coast of the United States such as New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Atlanta. My mother returned to the family and took care of our three siblings full-time. Of course, while my dad was making money, he would also take me to play football.
American kids play soccer just like Chinese kids play table tennis, and basically every kid loves this sport.
My dad coached our football team outside of work and led us for 7 years. I thought all dads were like this, but when I grew up, I found out that they weren't.
(When I was a child)
We had a big house with big balconies and a big backyard. Probably boys all over the world build their own secret bases, and when I was a kid, I used to play in the backyard and build forts out of tree branches.
After school, we finished class at 3:30 p.m. In addition to my formal school education, I also have a lot of time to participate in extracurricular activities and clubs, such as Model United Nations, trivia competitions, chess, and scouting.
When I was in a trivia club, I remembered a lot of who the presidents of the United States are and which cities are the capitals of the world. There was a contest to see who remembered the most π number after the decimal point. At the time, the second place was 87 and I was 1300, so there was no doubt that I won.
At the Boy Scouts, we go camping, do military training, earn badges, and the proudest thing is "I am an eagle." Founded in 1910, it is the largest youth organization in the United States.
Trump, Obama, and Bill Gates were also members of the Boy Scouts. When I was fourteen or fifteen years old, I organized a camp for 50 people, which honed my leadership skills.
(Participation in baseball games)
When I was in high school, I didn't like math very much, and my grades were not good. When I got home, my mom asked me, "Why didn't I do well on the math test?" I replied lightly, "Because I don't like math and don't really like math homework and exercises, but if I want to, I'll definitely get 100 points!" ”
After my mother was ashamed to explain the reason, she was not angry, but she said to me very firmly: "It makes no sense for you to say this, you really want to do it, don't tell what you don't do!" ”
I'm thankful that my mom didn't indulge me when I made a mistake, but pointed it out. No one doesn't make mistakes when I'm young, but thanks to my parents' timely teaching, I can avoid detours and keep improving.
(I've grown up all the way)
When you go to university, everyone has to learn a foreign language. I started learning Spanish, but I got bored as I learned because I was already familiar with a lot of words.
At that time, my roommates were learning Chinese, and I could always hear them say, "That's amazing!" It's so hard! "At the time, I was annoyed that they were always making such a fuss about it.
During the summer vacation of my freshman year, I went to Boston, which is one of the larger cities in the United States. It was my first time in a new city, and the novelty made me excited. The only Chinese history I have told me that there are a lot of big cities in China in Asia, and it would be nice if I could go to China.
It's not very useful to remember many heads of state and capitals, but if I can memorize a lot of Chinese characters, I can learn Chinese, communicate with Chinese, and go to China to meet bigger cities.
That's why I decided to learn Chinese.
(to a bigger city)
Actually, I didn't know much about China at that time, but I only learned a little bit of Chinese history when I was in the third grade of primary school, and I knew that China has a long history, and there are big cities in China, all of which are Chinese.
In fact, many Americans don't know what China's provinces are called and what first- and second-tier cities are, but they all know that China is very important.
After the start of school, I formally studied Chinese. The other classes are taken every other day, but the Chinese class is taken every day, and there is dictation every day.
I tried to memorize every note I learned in class, but when I dictated, I couldn't remember it at all. It's so hard! Many people don't believe that I was the worst student in my Chinese class at that time, but I am now fluent in Chinese.
The turning point happened that Christmas that year, and I learned the word "what if", as if brainwashed, no matter what happened, I always said "what if, what if." ”
During that time, I was "if, if," every day, and I found it very funny, not as boring as Spanish.
(Me and my Chinese teacher)
In order to learn Chinese better, when I was 19 years old, I went to China for the first time to study at East China Normal University in Shanghai.
Before that, I had only been to Europe once, and I went to a big city in a foreign country relatively rarely. Shanghai is so big! Sitting in a hotel on the Bund, looking outside, the high-rise buildings poured into my eyes, which was very shocking.
My favorite thing since I was a kid was a hamburger, and I can't eat spicy. But I found that Chinese like to eat meatballs and very hot soups, as well as noodles with pork or beef.
Once, I went to Chengdu to eat hot pot, and there was a competition where I put chili peppers on the tip of my tongue to see who would last for a long time, and I also tried it, which was so exciting and very interesting.
Now, I'm used to eating spicy stuff. The sweet and sour tenderloin is my favorite, and the Peking duck is also delicious.
(10 years ago in China)
When I first came to China, I couldn't communicate in Chinese. Once, when I went out to eat rice, I wanted to add soy sauce to taste, and after communicating with the boss, I brought a small bottle, and I added a lot to the bowl, but as soon as I took the first bite, I found that I had added vinegar instead of soy sauce.
A week later, just in time for the Chinese college entrance examination, many parents were outside the examination hall to deliver the exam. I volunteered, but I couldn't communicate with the parents at all.
In the next week, I was able to learn to speak. When I went out shopping, I went to a shop and planned to buy a fan and some simple souvenirs, and after buying two fans, I chatted with the owner.
I asked him, "Where are you from?" He said he was from Shanghai. I asked, "How many people do you have?" He said, "There are three of them." I said, "I have five people in my family." "I am very happy that I can finally communicate in Chinese, even if it is only for 2 minutes.
This moment gave me more confidence to learn Chinese well.
(Group photo in China 10 years ago)
Chinese is the key to opening China, and learning Chinese well can I better communicate with Chinese and learn Chinese culture.
In 2014, I returned to the United States to continue my education, but I did not give up learning Chinese, and insisted on practicing listening and speaking one-on-one online.
In 2017, I had the opportunity to go to Taiwan, China, and met many college students in their twenties. To be honest, I thought I was very good at Chinese at that time, and I spent 100 hours taking online classes, which is better than the Mandarin spoken by many Americans.
I spoke to them in Mandarin. I know there will be difficulties, but I think even if there are difficulties, I will try to overcome them and keep trying. But in fact, I didn't understand at all, so I had to communicate in English instead.
To add insult to injury, I found it a lot easier to communicate in English. I knew that both in Chinese mainland and Taiwan, students learn English, but I didn't expect them to speak English so fluently, as naturally as breathing.
I gave up! I don't think I'll ever learn Chinese again for the rest of my life! It's so hard!
(I also gave up, but I didn't admit defeat)
Until 2019, my friends and I developed an online writing course, which had nothing to do with Chinese. But I often listen to some other online programs.
Once listening to the radio, there was a person who played the cello particularly well, and the host asked, "Why do you play so well?" "I spend five hours a day practicing," he says. ”
It reminds me of my process of learning Chinese. That night, I went to the park and put on my headphones and listened to Chinese for 30 minutes. I found that I still liked it so much that I decided to continue learning Chinese, just like my mother said in high school, don't just talk empty words, but put it into action and get results.
From that time to now, I have not stopped learning Chinese, and I will never give up again.
(My Dad & Mom)
The pronunciation of Chinese has tones, and different tones will have different meanings. If you want to learn Chinese well, you must learn tone well. So I spent a lot of time listening to Chinese, listening to audio, watching videos, but I found it to be a passive process.
Later, I discovered a new method - parroting what I heard, and although I didn't know what I meant, I trained my oral muscles and formed a habit.
In 2022, I parroted for an hour a day for 250 days in a row. Practice when you're alone in your room, practice when you're going for a walk on the beach, and set aside an hour no matter how busy you are.
Usually I practice when no one is around. Once on a plane, when I saw that there was no one next to me, I put on headphones and listened while parroting to learn to read Chinese. While I was immersed in the joyful practice, the flight attendant came to me with a little puzzlement and concern, and asked, "Are you okay?" Are you on the phone? ”
If you're going to learn Chinese this way, be sure to pay attention to anyone else around. Otherwise, people will think you're crazy.
(Always insist)
The course I developed with my friends has also become popular because everyone stays at home and doesn't go out because of the epidemic. We registered the company and it is running well. But in the last year, we had a different idea about the direction of the company. He can't convince me, and I can't change him.
Eventually, I chose to leave.
After a few years of entrepreneurship, I also saved some money. I thought it would be better to leave Los Angeles and travel to China to learn Mandarin and Chinese culture better.
I am 30 years old this year, and it has been 10 years since I first came to China. In March, I said goodbye to Los Angeles, said goodbye to my girlfriend, and came to China alone.
While traveling, I learned the Chinese language and culture at the same time. I went to Kunming, Yunnan, which is a different city from Beijing and Shanghai.
In Yunnan, there is not so much fast-paced, you can work out in the gym, you can also go hiking, go into the forest, and get close to nature. Compared to the extreme weather I've experienced, the weather here is perfect, and I especially like Kunming.
China is really big, and now if a friend asks me what China looks like, I will tell them that it is like Europe, so that they can understand the enormity of China.
(I was traveling in Yunnan)
In addition to traveling, I'm also working on my next venture. I plan to do an online program to share and communicate Chinese and teach everyone to learn Chinese. So far, I have interviewed more than 90 Mandarin-speaking guests, and there are not many people who are paying attention now.
I have submitted an application for this startup project to a non-profit organization, and during the interview, the interviewer asked me why I wanted to start such a program.
My answer is: "Generally speaking, there should be two reasons why a foreigner learns Chinese so well. The first reason is that they have access to the U.S. government embassy, and the other reason is that they teach English in China. I happen to have entrepreneurial experience and can speak Chinese, so I think I am quite unique. ”
My Chinese teacher said that I was actually working as a foreign teacher. If you are a native Chinese speaker, you will know that foreign teachers teach people to learn the language.
I didn't understand it at first, thinking that the teacher was talking about diplomacy. I don't know what teaching English has to do with diplomacy.
(Chinese is already my soul mate)
If I can apply, I'll have $100,000. I'll use more professional photographers and editors to help me run the business.
If I don't apply, I will consider continuing to study Mandarin in China in the second half of the year, and maybe I will open another company with my friends that has nothing to do with Chinese and make money before doing this program.
Because this is my dream, speaking Mandarin has become my soul mate, and I will never give up again.
I am now proficient in Chinese, although there are still a lot of mistakes. When I'm concentrating on communication, grammatical errors aren't really that important. And I believe that in the future, my mistakes will slowly disappear.
(Resigned at the age of 30 to travel to China)
However, my Chinese writing and reading skills are still very average, and Chinese characters are much more difficult than English words. But I prefer to talk, whether in the U.S. or in China, I'm more willing to talk to strangers.
When we learn something new, we can start from what interests us. When there is inner motivation, it is especially easy to enter a state of flow and energize yourself.
Now is the age of the Internet, but also the era of information gluttony, and a lot of information distracts us. But we can also do something with the Internet. For example, I did a writing course before. Through writing, you can attract people from the same frequency, new opportunities, and new jobs.
The same goes for the Chinese program I'm about to do. The show will attract more audiences, and my audience will be my lever and bring me new opportunities.
Emerson in the 19th century once said, "The whole world will make way for him who is bent on his goal." ”
Probably a lot of people don't reach this state and are always thinking, "What about my wealth?" "What is my social status?" "What kind of work can I do?"
When you find something you purely love, whether it's learning a foreign language, learning math, starting a business, or spending time talking to your family, you will enjoy the process.
(My Family)
Speaking of family, I am really grateful to my parents. I always felt like I had a family that had won the lottery. My dad gave us a good financial foundation, and my mom gave us a lot of love and companionship. They were the ones who made me step out of my comfort zone and pursue my passions.
All three of my siblings are doing well. My sister has just given birth to a baby and is a lovely daughter. She is in the publishing industry and her brother-in-law is in the financial industry. My sister works in fashion, starts a business in New York, and talks about a nice boyfriend.
Nowadays many young people don't want to get married and have children, but I want to. Because my parents gave me such a wonderful family, I also want to give this gift to my children. Maybe in two or three years I'll be able to settle down, get married, and have kids!
(Search for "Xiaowei Strives to Learn Chinese" to focus on the protagonist)
[Dictation: Ma Xiaowei]
[Written by: Meet]
[Editor: Xiaoqi]
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