posted on August 6th, 2013  http://projectpengyou.org/story/i-failed-french/

I failed the French entrance exam for my college.  Basically, I could say Bonjour.  I was destroyed, but my mom was more practical about it: “You’ve always loved China and Chinese things, take Chinese.” And so I did.  It was only going to be for 2 years, but then my professor (the only one for the entire school at that time) broke both his legs.  Suddenly the Fulbright assistant became the professor, and I became the assistant (to my own class!).  I went to China for a month to see the country for myself before I got into any programs.  An unnamed program in Hangzhou basically told me there is no way they would take me on as a student.  I was again destroyed.  I was walking along the main shopping street of Hangzhou when an elderly man who spoke almost fluent English came up to me.  He had a story to tell me, he told me the story of an American woman who studied in Xi’an but didn’t have the courage to finish her studies.  She went back to the states, and after a year ran into a restaurant owner from Xi’an who encouraged her to go back, and she did just that.  ”Do you know why I’m telling you this story?” He asked me all of a sudden. I said no.  ”You seem to have gone through some disappointment today.  I know studying Chinese can be hard, but it is worth it in the end, don’t give up and keep going.” After a polite goodbye, the man left.  Since then, I’ve been a dive-head-first-into-the-deep-end Chinaphile.  And now, back in the US after 2 years of Nanjing, like the woman from Xi’an, I’m looking for the courage to continue my China life.