How noodles led to girl's love ofMandarin

By Keyshia Cole

导读:外国女孩因面条爱上中文。

Alittle girl’s interest in wanting to talk about Chinese food put her on a path to study the language.

Isabelle Szczerbinski first became interested in Chinese when she was 5.

“We were at a Chinese restaurant in Dallas.She was watching a man making noodles.She was so excited that she wanted to talk with him.Unfortunately,he didn’t speak English.On the way home,she said she wanted to learn Chinese,”said Eric Szczerbinski,Isabelle’s father.

“I totally fell in love with the language.It’s so beautiful and unlike anything I’ve ever heard before,” said Isabelle,who was one of 10 exemplary students honored by the Confucius Institute US Center in Washington on Saturday.

The People-People Award recipients were selected from 110 Confucius Institutes across the country.

“It’s not just your knowledge about language and culture,it's actually the special spirit that inspires you to do this,”said C.D.Mote Jr.,president of the National Academy of Engineering,who is also on the honorary host committee.

The honorees all have extraordinary stories about their journeys of learning Chinese with the CI.

Isabelle,whose Chinese name is Bao Ling,is now 12.She lives in Midlothian,Virginia,where she is home-schooled.

Szczerbinski watches movies and TV from China without subtitles.

Some of her favorite Chinese cartoons are Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf and Big Head Son and Small Head Dad,which are very popular in China.

“They are so different from what I’ve ever seen on American TV,” said Szczerbinski.

Szczerbinski studies at the Confucius Institute near her home,the William&Mary Confucius Institute in Williamsburg,Virginia.

“It is just the beginning of a fantastic ongoing adventure,all thanks to the Confucius Institute,” she said.

The WMCI offers courses on many aspects of Chinese culture,from travel tips to calligraphy,to tai chi,cooking and music.

The first course that Szczerbinski took was a cooking class.“I love Chinese food.The chef was a famous chef,Peter Chang,”she said.Szczerbinski then tried tai chi and kung fu through the WMCI.

In 2017,through the WMCI,Szczerbinski joined the JNCL-NCLIS(languagepolicy.org)to lobby Virginia senators and congressional representative for more funding for language instruction in public schools.

“I want to thank the Confucius Institute for sharing the wonderful language and culture of China to the world,”she said.“It has been a wonderful journey for all of us,” said Szczerbinski’s mother.

一个小女孩对谈论中国美食的兴趣使她走上了学习中文的道路。

Isabelle Szczerbinski在5岁的时候第一次对中文产生兴趣。

“当时我们在达拉斯的一家中餐馆里。她正在看一个人做面条。她非常激动，想和做面条的人聊聊。可是很遗憾，那个人不会说英语。在回家的路上，她说她想学习中文，”Isabelle的父亲Eric Szczerbinski这样说道。

周六，在华盛顿孔子学院美国中心，Isabelle荣幸地成为10名模范学生的一员，她说：“我完全爱上了这种语言。它是如此美妙，与我以前听到过的任何东西都不一样。”

“人人奖”获得者是从全国110所孔子学院中挑选。

美国国家工程院院长，同时也是名誉主办委员会成员的C.D.Mote jr.说：“这不仅是你对语言和文化的了解，实际上也是激发你去做这件事的特殊精神。”

获得这些荣誉的人，他们背后都有不同寻常的故事：关于在孔子学院学习中文的经历。

Isabelle今年12岁，她的中文名字是宝玲。她住在弗吉尼亚州的中洛锡安，在家接受了家庭教育。

她平常会看没有字幕的中国电影和电视节目。

她最喜欢的中国动画片是《喜羊羊与灰太狼》和《大头儿子和小头爸爸》，这些动画片在中国也很受欢迎。

Szczerbinski说:“他们和我在美国电视上看到的节目很不一样。”

Szczerbinski在她家附近的孔子学院学习，这所孔子学院是位于弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡的威廉玛丽孔子学院。

“这仅仅是奇妙的冒险之旅的开始，这一切都要感谢孔子学院。”她说。

威廉玛丽孔子学院提供的课程涉及中国文化的很多方面，从旅行指南到书法、太极、烹饪和音乐。

Szczerbinski参加的第一个课程是烹饪课。她说：“我非常喜欢中国菜。这位是著名的厨师，彼得·张。”然后，Szczerbinski试着学习太极和功夫。

2017年，通过威廉玛丽孔子学院，Szczerbinski加入了“JNCL-NCLIS”(languagepolicy.org)，游说弗吉尼亚州参议员和国会议员，为公立学校的语言教学提供更多的资金。

她说:“我要感谢孔子学院向全世界分享中国的精彩语言和文化。”Szczerbinski的母亲说:“这对我们所有人来说都是一段美好的旅程。”