"'Chinese Bridge' is a bridge to build cultural communication between China and foreign countries, through this bridge, I not only improved my Chinese proficiency, but also further understood Chinese culture!" Justine, a student of Tianjin Foreign Chinese University's 2021 "Chinese Bridge" - National Online Winter Camp Program for Students in French-Speaking Germany, said.
Justine is Dutch and has been living in Shanghai for two and a half years. She majored in applied communication and is now a business director. Because her husband was sent to Work in Shanghai, the whole family moved to Shanghai. When she first came to Shanghai, she didn't understand Chinese at all, felt very distressed, and in order to communicate with the people around her, she participated in the Chinese training course provided by the company. Through learning Chinese, she gradually understood the charm of Chinese culture, slowly fell in love with Chinese, and began a long journey of learning Chinese.
Chinese Learning Journey
Justine now has two Chinese lessons a week of two hours each. Because the children were too young to be busy, she and her husband hired an aunt to help with the children at home. "My aunt doesn't understand foreign languages at all, so I can practice Chinese with my aunt." Justine is very happy that she can use Chinese in her daily life. In the process of learning Chinese, Justine often felt distressed about the writing and reading of Chinese characters. Like most foreigners, she also finds Chinese pronunciation and intonation difficult, "but fortunately, the grammar of Chinese does not seem to be as difficult as I thought." By chance, through the introduction of friends, she signed up for the "Chinese Bridge" winter camp, hoping to slowly improve herself in the exchange with native speakers. Through the study of recorded and live lessons, she fell in love with the "Chinese Bridge" and deepened her interest in learning Chinese characters. "Every Chinese character has its own story behind it," Justine says, "for example, 'I go to the toilet,' and people use the verb 'going up,' I think it's probably because the toilet is the farthest from the entrance to the room."
A journey through Chinese culture
In the more than two years of living in Shanghai, Justine can be regarded as going to all the attractions in Shanghai. She has been to Shanghai Zoo and Ocean Park to see seals and pandas, climbed the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, went to Longhua Temple to watch locals burn incense, experienced the style of Jiangnan Water Town in Zhaojialou Ancient Town, and made biscuits, cakes, roasted wheat, dumplings, mooncakes and so on with children. Not only Shanghai, she has also been to Xiamen Gulangyu Island, lived in the antique Tulou, spent seven days in Ningbo where it was always raining, and marveled at the charm of the waterfall under the Huangguoshu Waterfall... Of course, her favorite is China's tea culture. "In Anji and Fujian, coffee tables can be seen everywhere. Locals will always warmly invite you to have tea and chat with them. "So at her home in Shanghai, she also prepared tea sets and often learned to make tea ceremonies by herself." The tea ceremony not only reminds me of the beauty of my travels, but also calms down from the busy city life. ”
In the process of learning Chinese, Justine not only facilitated her daily life and work, but also slowly understood the charm of Chinese culture. She fell in love with speaking Chinese, and even more fell in love with the profound Chinese culture. Nowadays, more and more foreign friends enter China through Chinese and fall in love with Chinese culture, which is exactly what "Chinese Bridge" has been pursuing. It is believed that in the coming days, "Chinese Bridge" will help more foreign friends listen to the beautiful Chinese voice and appreciate the unique Chinese story.
Source | Academy of European Languages and Cultures