Uniting the world through Chinese
- By Chris Parker
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 6, 2014
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A performance highlights Chinese pottery culture during the final of the 13th Chinese Bridge -- Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students on Aug. 3. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] |
Traveling around China and competing with such an international group has been a unique experience for the participants. "I've had an amazing time in the competition and the best thing about it has been the people I have met," said Ieva Nagyte, who has just completed a degree in Chinese at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. "After the summer, I have a scholarship to study for a Master's degree here."
"The competition has been really tiring, but I've made so many friends, my Chinese has improved, and I've got to try lots of different foods and meet a lot of people," said Rebecca Morrison, who studies Chinese and Law in Brisbane, Australia. "After I finish university in Australia, I want to come back to China to study international relations."
The winner of this year's competition, Monica Cunha da Silva from Brazil, said, "I first came to Kunming in China when I was 13 and was there for a year. I remember once I saw an American on TV speaking fluent Chinese, and I wanted to be able to do the same. I tried for the competition before, and this time I've been lucky. There is a saying that 10 seconds on stage can take 10 years of work. The competition has been hard work, but I've made so many friends here."
In one of the most poignant moments in the competition, a young student from Madagascar, Ratsizakaina Isaia Herimialy, who was a second prize winner in the 11th Chinese Bridge competition, returned to the stage to tell her story. She was given a scholarship for winning the competition, and she now studies at Beijing Language and Culture University. "Chinese Bridge changed my life," she said.
"I was studying Chinese in Madagascar, and my teacher from the Confucius Institute encouraged me to enter the competition, but then he went back to China, and I really regret never being able to thank him."
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