Kendall Kracke

Kendall Kracke, whose Chinese name is Li Xiaoyu, won the global championship during the 20th "Chinese Bridge" Competition. When she recalls the many sweet, and bitter, experiences in studying Chinese, Li says she believes all of her efforts have been worthwhile.

Li began studying Chinese about six years ago, soon after she met a young Chinese woman studying in San Francisco. Influenced by the woman, who kept telling her about the splendid Chinese culture, Li decided to visit China after she finished senior middle school. To improve her language skills, Li applied to study Chinese at a local community college. During the past few years, Li has worked incredibly hard to earn the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) qualification.

In 2016, Li arrived in China. Like they say, experience is often the best teacher. During her visits to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and other cities (in China) over the past few years, Li has gained a firsthand understanding of the unique charm of the Chinese culture.

"My most favorite city is Hangzhou (capital of East China's Zhejiang Province). During the year (2016) when I studied Chinese in Zhejiang University (in the ancient city), I took delight in visiting tea parks by West Lake, and in watching residents sing, dance and play musical instruments on the river bank," recalls Li.

"Almost all of the learners have had a hard time studying Chinese. For many learners, Chinese characters and tones … are 'hard nuts' to crack," says Li.

She has told many of her friends and acquaintances about her interesting experience when having a meal with her British friend in a Chinese restaurant. At that time, Li did not understand Chinese characters. When the waiter said the restaurant offered braised fish head in brown sauce, Li took the dish name as braised taros in brown sauce, as the Chinese pronunciations of fish head (鱼头 yútóu) and taros (芋头 yùtou) are similar. Li and her friend were surprised when they saw the dish, then they realized they had made a mistake. For Li, the complexity of the Chinese language has made it all the more fascinating. While studying Chinese, she has "fallen in love" with China, a country that boasts a long history and splendid culture.

Li enjoys playing the guzheng (a traditional Chinese plucked musical instrument). As she learned how to play the instrument in Celesta Zither Culture College (in Qingdao, a city in East China's Shandong Province), she learned, from the school's teachers, the stories of many famous Chinese figures in history. Li is now studying in the Ph.D. program on Chinese education at Portland State University (in Oregon, the United States). She is also teaching Chinese at a local middle school. Every year, some of the middle school's students participate in the "Chinese Bridge" competition. Many of her students are proud of Li, who recently won the global championship during the 20th "Chinese Bridge" Competition.

Through her experiences, Li has realized the competition has bridged the cultures of China and other countries. She hopes she can help more people (in various countries) understand the Chinese language.

"We have had mixed feelings of joy and pain from studying Chinese ... We'll make persevering efforts to improve our Chinese-language skills," says Li.

Photo Supplied by  Kendall Kracke

(Women of China English Monthly November 2021 issue)