Aside from the annual Chinatown trip and the usual celebration of traditional holidays, the Mandarin classes have taken their education a step further. In late April, Director General David Chih-Hsiang Wu, who currently works at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, paid a visit to Campo’s Honors and AP Mandarin classes, inviting interested students to a talk he hosted about the significance of bilingualism and cross-cultural communication. Through his discussion of working in the foreign service, Wu was able to offer students a firsthand look into the realities of his career.
Hosted as part of the “Global Bridge” talk, the presentation focused not only on language, but also on Wu’s personal experiences that came with his career. After discussing his frequent travels between countries that affected both his professional and family life, he also emphasized the importance of adapting to new environments and cultures. Throughout his career, which included time spent in Europa, Wu utilized several languages including his native Mandarin, English, French, Dutch, and even a little German.
For many students, the presentation challenged their assumptions about what a career in diplomacy really means. Senior AP Mandarin student Yi Yi Nguyen said, “At first, I thought it would just be a talk about politics, but he started going into depth about his life and how he has to move around a lot. I knew that in that profession they have to move around and go to different countries, but I hadn’t really thought about how that would really impact his life and important decisions, which prompted me to ask a question afterward about that.” Aside from being interested in the personal aspects of Wu’s experiences, Nguyen added that she hadn’t expected other parts of the job to be as they were. “I didn’t know that part of their job involved cultural events and trying to get along with people in the community. I had assumptions about the job beforehand; that they really don’t deal with normal people on the street, just officials and all of their work would be more formal,” she said.
Similarly, junior and Honors student Clark Gregory found the discussion especially meaningful because of his interest in languages and politics, noting that Wu spoke a lot about the work Taiwan put into technological exports and promoting the country internationally. “One part I thought was cool was they tried to encourage and sell Taiwan to anyone they talked to, so they had a presentation on Taiwan’s importance on the world stage and why you should visit Taiwan and what it has to offer,” he said. “It was cool to learn more about the country itself and about their foreign policy.”
As an event organized by Campo’s Mandarin teacher, Sabrina Wun, opportunities like the Global Bridge talk helped the Mandarin students connect language learning with real world experiences and global citizenship. While other students continue to pursue STEM subjects and different interests, it is undeniable how bilingualism, as presented in the talk, can open doors to strengthening cross-cultural understanding.
“It still connects to us Mandarin students with the concept of national identities,” Nguyen added. “I think it was definitely a great experience, and a fun activity.”
