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Article: Speaking up By immersing herself in Mandarin, a Chinese-American woman discovers something about who she is.
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- September 17, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1995 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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continuing her language studies in Taiwan.
Pan Laoshi steps briskly into the small, white-walled classroom
and faces a semicircle of six students. "Ni shenti zenmeyang?" he
says. "How's your health?" he is asking in crisp, melodic Mandarin.
The 25-year-old Dartmouth College graduate, wearing khaki shorts and
T-shirt, gazes at one student and then whips around and snaps his
fingers with a pop, gesturing palm up at another.
We are sitting on the edge of our folding chairs, leaning forward
to listen and trying to re-create the strange sounds coming from his
mouth. Suddenly, he turns to me, his hazel eyes about 18 inches from
my face. My tones are off, and in a language in which it's ...