I don't like to say 'learned' because I am under the impression the level of Mandarin I have achieved in the past 4yrs is far below what most here have achieved. I dropped out of college and just kind of 'dabble' in it. Just felt like I had to give that preface

But I learned because as a young kid I remember hearing Chinese people speaking and just being so genuinely interested in how different it sounded. I also grew up watching a lot of old Bruce Lee movies (Yes, I know it was spoken in Cantonese) so I became more and more interested with the culture.

I also made friends with a Chinese exchange student when I was in high school and we had some really cool talks and some really fun memories. They did a secret Santa, and the person who was in charge of running it knew of my aspirations to travel to China someday, so he rigged it so me and my Chinese friend would be matched. My friend gifted me the most beautiful hand crafted Chinese kite... he wanted me to fly it but it's so beautiful, I never did. I still have it in it's original box and it's my most prized possession, besides pictures of my grandmother. I actually had a massive falling out with the friend who rigged the secret Santa, but even regardless, I'll always be thankful to him and my friend from China for this beautiful gift.

I am 27 and still don't have a great grasp of Mandarin, I am a college drop out and never taught in China like I wanted. But I still dream of it. Sorry for oversharing lol but it felt good to talk about it