Growing up in America, A new Generations Journey
[Intro] In 1995, Seattle's Chinese community was not yet as large as it is today, and Chinese education was largely unexplored territory. That same year, Northwest Chinese School (NWC) was just founded. The protagonist of today's story, Jack, was the school's first student and first graduate in its history.
Starting from high school when he began learning Chinese, he discovered the charm and cultural depth behind the language through gradual learning. Originally aspiring to study philosophy and physics, he resolutely chose Chinese as his university major. After graduation, Jack worked in Beijing and Hong Kong for many years, opening up his own world stage with fluent Chinese and cross-cultural thinking. It can be said that learning Chinese thoroughly changed the direction of his life. Today, his two children have also stepped into the classrooms of Northwest Chinese School. Jack hopes they can not only master Chinese, but also connect with culture and understand the world through language.
In this interview, Jack deeply reflects on his cross-cultural journey from an American youth to someone bilingual in Chinese and English - using a span of thirty years, he has written an inspiring story of pursuing Chinese dreams, which is also a story about persistence, love, and inheritance.
I. The Seed of 1995: From "Illiteracy" to First Graduate
Reflecting on his childhood, Jack admits that Chinese was once a subtle regret in his heart.
"Every time I returned to China as a child, although I could understand what people were saying, my expression abilities were completely insufficient," Jack said in the interview with emotion. "What frustrated me most was walking on the street, I couldn't understand any of the signs or menus. At that moment, I felt like an 'illiterate' person living in China."
This strong sense of identity loss saw a turning point in the summer after eighth grade. In 1995, when Northwest Chinese School was just established, Jack became one of the first students to step through its doors.
In that era, Chinese education in Seattle was still in its infancy. There were no AP Chinese courses as prevalent today, and no mature textbook system. The courses at that time were relatively simple. "Back then, going to Chinese school was more about meeting Chinese kids with similar backgrounds and finding a sense of belonging."
However, it was this seemingly simple persistence that allowed Jack to build a solid foundation bit by bit over four years of high school. As the school's first graduate, he not only learned Chinese characters at Northwest Chinese School but also discovered a door to a whole new world.
II. Abandoning Physics and Philosophy: The Heart "Stolen" by Classical Chinese
After entering university, Jack's original life plan was to study philosophy or physics. However, fate took a complete turn when he took several Chinese courses.
"I was exposed to Chinese literature and classical Chinese," Jack recalled. When he began to analyze every character and line of grammar from a linguistic perspective, the logical beauty behind the culture deeply attracted him.
Chinese learning in university was no longer simple listening, speaking, reading, and writing, but academic deep diving. He would spend hours analyzing a short text in classical Chinese, studying the usage of every particle. This boredom became fascinating puzzles for the passionate. To completely break through the limitations of the language environment, Jack also spent a year at Sichuan University as an exchange student.
"I discovered that what I was most interested in, after all, was Chinese."
Eventually, he resolutely decided to change his major and make Chinese his university focus. This decision not only changed his academic trajectory but also changed his career journey for the next decade or more.
III. From Seattle to Beijing and Hong Kong Workplaces: The "Professional Alchemy" of a Native Speaker
After graduating from university, Jack returned to Asia with his Chinese proficiency. He worked in Hong Kong for fifteen years, spanning multiple fields including e-commerce and real estate. In 2015, he went to Beijing to work as a technical writer and translator at a localization company.
In the workplace, Jack also encountered many challenges.
"Although I consider Chinese to be my native language, since my growth environment was primarily in an English-speaking region, workplace expression proficiency remained a huge challenge." Many times, English expressions would jump into his mind first, requiring careful consideration when translating into Chinese. "I'm relatively cautious by nature, afraid of making mistakes, so I have to think carefully before saying anything."
But he didn't retreat. A habit developed in college saved him: during summer breaks, he would read Chinese books frantically, looking up and recording unfamiliar words in the dictionary. Until one day, he was surprised to discover that he could pick up a Chinese newspaper and understand 95% of the content without consulting a dictionary.
At that moment, he completed the transformation from "learner" to "master." At work, this language ability gave him unique cross-cultural thinking, making him a bridge connecting Eastern and Western communication.
IV. The Power of Inheritance: Cantonese at Home, Mandarin at School
Today, Jack is the father of two children. His daughter is in fourth grade at Northwest Chinese School, and his younger son has just started his Chinese learning journey in kindergarten.
In home education, Jack has a unique "bilingual strategy."
- Protecting the dialect: Because his wife speaks Cantonese, they insist on speaking Cantonese with their children at home. "Because opportunities to learn Cantonese here are too few, I want them to remember their family's roots."
- Deepening academic learning: At school, children follow teachers to systematically learn Mandarin and Chinese character reading and writing.
To his surprise, in a good environment, his daughter's current Chinese reading level has far exceeded his own at the same age.
"As a Chinese person growing up in America, I hope they can at least achieve speaking, listening, and being able to read newspapers." In Jack's view, this is not just about mastering another tool, but also about allowing children to face different cultural environments with confidence in the future and understand who they truly are. He hopes the children won't lose their connection to their Chinese traditional cultural roots.
V. Advice for Overseas Chinese Parents: Value Comes from Within
At the end of the interview, as someone "who has been there," Jack offered some sincere suggestions for Chinese families overseas who want their children to learn Chinese.
He believes that in an environment where English dominates, children will inevitably have questions: "Why do I have to learn Chinese?"
"This requires parents' effort and encouragement to explain the value of Chinese to their children." Only when children generate willingness from their hearts will learning produce a qualitative leap.
Conclusion
From that small classroom at Northwest Chinese School in 1995, to the skyscrapers of Beijing and Hong Kong, and now accompanying children studying Chinese under the lamp. Jack's story tells us: Chinese is never just a string of characters; it's a bloodline, a perspective, and infinite possibilities connecting the world and oneself.
If you're also struggling with your children's Chinese education, perhaps Jack's path will bring you some inspiration and reflection—those shed tears, worn-out dictionaries, will eventually become the strongest armor and warmest background color for children as they walk through the world.
Salute to all families overseas who persist in cultural inheritance.