My peers would learn that after moving from California when I was four, I really had been living in China for the past 10 years. As I could only speak a few words of Mandarin at first when I moved to a bilingual school, I had to teach myself how to be comfortable in new situations where I didn’t know any of the language, people or culture. During this time I realized how to communicate effectively with others on my own, and it also meant I was able engage and connect with people from other cultures. This is epitomized in my experiences from my next school, Western Academy of Beijing (WAB). When I first moved there, I walked up to a Korean girl, and I was easily able to connect with her, talking about Korean sushi and how my first day was going. …show more content…
I would explain that I mainly focus on ballet, but modern contemporary and jazz also feature significantly in my repertoire. I love dance because it not only offers strength, flexibility and stamina, but it allows me to express myself in a creative way. I also believe that it should be equally appreciated by both genders, not merely associated with girls. Through changing studios, I was exposed to different teaching perspectives. When I met my current teacher, she challenged and encouraged me to be more driven, diligent, and determined, and this has directly impacted my academics and ability to study. Through successes and failures in both, I have built up my …show more content…
Without a doubt being the oldest sister has shaped who I am through the various occasions that I’ve had to care for and work in unity with my family. Making and selling items with my sisters for Charity Bazaars taught me responsibility, and that even though my ideas might sound the best to me, I have to encourage and incorporate other’s input as well. Even when we disagreed, I had to use my composing skills, which continued to build up my resilience. Despite this challenge, we were determined to make a change and donated our profits to Nepal Youth Foundation, helping girls go to school. Together, we will continue investing our time helping others and supporting less fortunate girls our
Many can identify with what it means to be a sibling. Whether you are the oldest, youngest, or somewhere in between, you can most likely relate to the individual struggle within one. Being the oldest may carry the burden of responsibility and a sense of duty, and the youngest may feel a sense of entitlement. Whichever place one holds may depend on the person. Mai Lee Chai’s “Saving Sourdi” tells the story of two sisters who came to America with the hope of finding freedom. The two girls found anything but that. The younger sister Nea, takes the unusual role of the guardian, while the older sister Sourdi is atypically being cared for by Nea.
Waving to my teammates as I walked out of the tennis courts, the reminiscence of a smile appeared on my face after winning a close match. A freshman teammate joined me and I heard her take a deep breath as soon as we were out of others’ earshot, muttering something nervously. “I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked a little too loudly, the excitement still buzzing. She mustered courage and made sure to speak clearly this time: “I’m being bullied, and I feel so trapped that I only see self-harming as my way out.”
My traits have led me to my current path in ways unimaginable. My dancing skills allow me to persevere through difficult challenges, be more flexible, and adapt to change more efficiently, while my quiet confidence allows me to be more humble. With the help of these talents and traits and the lessons I learned from them, I am able to be the most excellent version of myself and make the best out of my life. In the present day, I can assess how these traits help me in school, at home, and in the dance studio. Ultimately, possessing these talents and traits, I have the potential to go far and be successful in the
I have been dancing since the age of four. I started my intense training with Tanju and Patricia Tuzer, Debra Bale, and Linda Brown at Tuzer Ballet. I developed as a dancer, attending every summer intensive performing in every show, advancing from intermediate to apprentice to junior company and finally to senior company. The dance studio became my second home. I took classes in ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, tap, jazz, lyrical jazz, theatrical movement, hip-hop, zumba, and African-Ballet, pointe, contemporary, and lyrical jazz being my favorites. Even w...
My tenure in student government groomed me into an adept problem solver, negotiator, and critical thinker, always willing to help others. I translated these skills as a member of the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) program where I taught Chinese to students desiring to learn the language. Moved by the eagerness of students to learn the Chinese language, I spearheaded my own program, The Language Corner, to teach students not only how to speak Chinese, but to also provide them with an understanding of China’s history, society, and rich culture. Through teaching, I realized that I have a unique perspective to offer and that I should not put my self into the immigrant box as if I have nothing to offer. My experiences have prompted me to be proactive in my engagement with others, steadfast in my studies, and committed to achieving the success my parents worked so hard for me to
Being the oldest of my two sisters and 42 cousins had automatically made me a role model. I took this role seriously growing up in Los Angeles. It wasn’t easy growing up in such a dangerous environment. My dad worked especially hard to move us out and
Growing up, one of my priorities was dance. I started dancing at age five at the City Performing Arts Academy and at fifteen I began taking classes at Elite Dance Academy. From early on in my dance career, I aspired to be just like the older dancers at my studio. They were such beautiful dancers and I dreamed of growing up to be as talented as they were. I remember in one of my classes we were given the opportunity to watch the advanced ballet class dance. This was the first time I ever saw dancers en pointe. I was utterly awestruck. I could not wrap my head around how these girls could so gracefully and seemingly effortlessly dance on their toes; however, I knew from that moment that I wanted nothing more than to dance en pointe. Soon, I realized
In addition, I would like to share some quote from one of MSU faculty that I heard on my orientation 3 years ago. “ Do you think how many time you will have an opportunity to be in a society that you can meet a person from around the world”. Indeed, what he said is true. My friends are Chinese, Japanese, American, African American, Taiwanese, and even African. It was an amazing right; I can make my friend around the world in one place. I don’t think many people have a chance like me to interact with people from around the world by not visiting their countries. In addition, interact with people that have a different background than you can lead you to a new perspective, these people make you look the world from a different
According to Martha Graham, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” To me, dancing is more than just a hobby, it is my life. My dance team is also more than just a team, it is my second family. Each girl on my team has her own unique personality, but somehow, we all get along well. We are all such good friends and have had to make it through many difficult situations already, but all it has done was bring us closer together. The girls on my team are all caring, talented, and funny.
Gudykunst, William B., and Young Yun Kim. Communicating with strangers: an approach to intercultural communication. 4 ed. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., 1984.
In a word, both family and school play a crucial role in American born Chinese’s socialization process. Both of them influence ABC’s behaviors, norms and personalities.
For my final project I decided to do a form of dance and that form of dance I chose is ballet. I decided to choose ballet because every since I was a little girl I always admired the how graceful and elegant the dances carried themselves on stage. Throughout growing up I gain knowledge from friends who did ballet and pointe that it is not as glamorous as it is perceived. Ballet dancers go through excruciating lengths to be as elegant they can be on stage and I condemn their strength and persistence to do this form of dance. I believe ballet is one of the most beautiful forms of dance because ballet dancers practice to perfection and on stage you can definitely see how passionate they are about this form of dance.
Knowing how to speak when having any intercultural communication is a valid skill. The Chinese like to be greeted by bowing heads as a way to say hello and to start a conversation. They do not shake hands like Americans do. The role each person has is another thing to understand. For instance if you are a student speaking to your teacher you would communicate differently to that person than to your parents and vice versa. “Social stratification varies across cultures, and not all roles are valued the same (Neuliep, 2014).” This helps to understand our social standing within our culture. In China they value respect and use the group memberships we assume to help aid our communication with one
My most favorite activities include entertaining an audience. Dance has been a part of my life for years. A way to grow and prosper into a better individual, dance involves training and skill. Taking jazz, tap, ballet and lyrical, dance has been a safe home for me to go to in need. During school and outside of school at Robin Dawn Academy, dance helps me in distress as well as work to becoming a better athlete. Cheerleading is also one of my favorite activities as well. Joining my sophomore year, cheerleading involves stamina and practice. Learning how to stunt and cheer on my
...s encountered by Chinese background students in intercultural communications. This study also suggests including knowledge of nonverbal communication into EFL teaching so as to enable English learners to become fully competent in the targeted language, because nonverbal communication is used in everyday communication, and it is one of the prerequisites to acquire intercultural communicative competence.