How we practice our Mandarin skill?
Deborah Newton 紐黛比
This summer I had the honor of spending time with two young women from Taiwan, YenYen and Sonya. I spent three afternoons a week with YenYen and Sonya doing various activities as we shared our cultures and our languages with each other. Both girls spoke very good English. I, on the other hand, having only had one semester of Mandarin, had a lot to learn. YenYen is a very creative and artistic person. She loves music (she plays the Gǔzhēng 古箏), museums, and art. Sonya plays the piano and enjoys cooking and going for walks in nature. The first week we met Sonya and YenYen, their hosts, Jenny and Jing, held an “Austin Fusion” Potluck. It was an opportunity for everyone to meet people from various places in the world and for all of us to share a part of our culture with each other. The food was phenomenal and the guests were amazing people. I had a wonderful time. During my visits with them we taught each other games from our cultures and we helped bake cookies and cakes for Sonya to sell at the Barton Creek Farmers’ Market. We went to the Blanton Museum and a Mushroom art show at ArtUS on by the Mycological Society in Austin. We went to see “Carol King, The Musical” at the Zach Scott Theater. YenYen and Sonya had never been to a musical theater production before. We also ate fajitas at Maudie’s. They said it was the first time they had eaten inside an American restaurant. On our last night together we had planned to go kayaking on Lady Bird Lake and then take in the sunset at Mt. Bonnell but the rain washed away those plans. Instead, we went to Cidercade and played arcade games. They also have an outdoor patio where we were able to observe the bats leaving from under the Congress Ave bridge. After leaving the arcade we walked along the hike and bike trail and were able to get some great photos of downtown Austin. Throughout all of our adventures together we shared things about our cultures and our language. I enjoyed every minute with them. We plan to keep in touch and hope to see each other again someday.
Animate Mazurek 馬安妮
This summer TCML connected me with an opportunity to meet and practice Mandarin with some Austin Taiwanese friends, Jenny and Jing, and some of Jing’s family visiting from Taiwan, Sonya and Yennifer.
Our new friends were very nice and told us a lot about Taiwan. We learned some music terms when Sonya and Yennifer told us about the instruments they play. We even got to hear Yennifer play the guzheng one day.
We practiced our numbers and colors through board games like Azul and Rummikub that Sonya and Yennifer taught us. They also taught us some cooking terms when we made green tea cookies together.
One of my favorite days was a dinner that Jenny hosted as part of her AmoreAi project. She was nice enough to invite all of us to attend. At the dinner, all attendees brought a dish to share and had the opportunity to tell a story about the food they made. Jenny shared a pork dish garnished with mustard leaves that her family in Taiwan grows. It was delicious!
I’m grateful that TCML gave us a chance to make some new friends. Hopefully we can visit them in Taiwan someday!
Helen Febrie 謝倍菁
This summer I had a short cultural exchange with Taiwanese friends (Sonya & Yennifer). I learned a bit about how to prepare Taiwanese Boba Tea. We practiced how to say colors and numbers in Mandarin from playing Rummikub, together. We also reviewed reading the textbook and they helped us review to prep for the Fall TCML class and fixed our problem pronunciations. I wish we had more time together, as I would have loved to increase my vocabulary and be more comfortable speaking.