Girl in Translation No. 1

     I've recently started reading Girl in Translation  by Jean Kwok. Within the first few pages of the book, I could understand how Kimberly, the main character that just emigrated from China, is lost in the American culture. From the first few chapters, Kimberly finds it hard to cope with the American culture. Kimberly strives to understand all these things thrown at her, but its hard for her to excel all these obstacles.
     Like Kimberly, I have faced many challenges. To connect to her on an even deeper level, I have had trouble understand Mandarin in the past. Like Kimberly, I found it hard to understand Mandarin at first. When I was 10, my mother signed me up for Mandarin classes. I was upset because I didn't see the point in learning a different form of the Asian language nor did I see how it would help, but that was what my 10 year old mind thought. Now that I have matured, I see the point in learning multiple languages. I was mentally frustrated and angry with myself. Most of the time, I understood what the teacher said, but I didn't know how to respond back at all. I felt useless and embarrassed. Sometimes I would try so hard to complete the Chinese assignment that was due for the week, but I failed to do so. It was hard, but after taking Mandarin classes, I made progress and soon learned how to respond to questions in Mandarin.
     For Kimberly, she has the same problem as me. She has a hard time understanding the English language and doesn't seem to fit in just yet. I feel for her. I understand what she is going through right now. She tries hard to understand the English language too. She even imagined herself using new words that Mr. Bogart, her public school teacher, didn't know. She strives to learn, but she's stuck in a shell. I hope Kimberly soon copes with the American culture.