I am an ABC — Australian Born Chinese. The term highlights my cultural dissonance from my Chinese heritage due to growing up in Australia. In particular, the Chinese language (Mandarin) is a piece of culture that I am quite dissonant with. I grew up primarily speaking English and despite my parents both knowing how to speak Mandarin, it was a language I failed to acquire.
I would like to share how I came to learn Mandarin via Culturestride and what it can bring to the table for language learning. I hope it sparks interest to those who are unsure about picking up Mandarin and give them the courage to start learning.