Wo Shi Hua Ren.

For the past few weeks, during the semester break, I have been thrown a few reminders of how linguistically blessed I have been. I have excellent English, very good Bahasa Malaysia, and 9 years of Mandarin Chinese Education. I speak fluent Cantonese. I also know basic French, as well as many words in ancient Latin and Greek. I am also familiar with some Spanish and Italian words.

Many of my friends have expressed their chagrin at not knowing Mandarin Chinese. Some have expressed great regret at not knowing the language, and others have made efforts to learn it.

I must say that I have not been entirely appreciative of the opportunity that was given to me. I left Sam Tet Secondary after my PMR to avoid taking the Mandarin Chinese Paper for my SPM. My grades for Chinese was never excellent, and I have trouble remembering some of the idioms of Chinese.

I have lost contact with the language for so long that it was not until university that I regained contact with it. Even then, it was not as one who is meeting an old friend. I failed to recognize the richness and depth of the language till now.

I should be more appreciative of the language and culture that I was born into. Just a month ago someone commented that I have lost touch with my own culture, not even celebrating beyond the obvious Chinese New Year. I needed to buy an English book on Chinese Culture to read about these festivals and events!! And I also tried to read Romance of the Three Kingdoms in English! I have read Shakespeare and Milton in their own language but cannot even read the great literary works of my own culture in its natural form!

Maybe instead of running around with other languages, I should re-fortify my knowledge of the Chinese Language, not only as an added advantage in this challenging world (let's face it, how many people with a Chinese education background have excellent English to go with it?) but also as a means to understand and appreciate my own heritage and culture. I am not being a racist here but I strongly believe that racial acceptance includes accepting each others cultural diversity and heritage.

So if any of you reading this has any questions concerning the language, please ask. There is nothing better in learning than to teach. You will be helping me as well as yourselves.