I had to write an essay about a challenge or accomplishment I had done in the past year... So this is what I wrote, and it makes me sound better than I am, but (shrugs) it also describes my feeling of accomplishment. 

Learning Chinese 

By: Cindy L. Martens

In the school year of 2009 - 2010 I taught English as a second language in Taiwan. Being in another country can be quite challenging, the language is different, the culture is different, and being Caucasian, I looked different.

Last school year I was in Yuli, a little town on the eastern side of Taiwan. My transportation consisted of a bicycle, walking, and for long distances the train. I was in the middle of nowhere with the nearest Starbucks or mega grocery store two hours away by train.

In the little town of Yuli, I was known as the "English Teacher" or "American". Biking through town, people would call out "Hello, English Teacher, how are you?". This was as much English that a normal Taiwanese person would know. I would respond with the textbook answer "I am fine, thank-you, and you?". The people loved it; they loved calling out to me and hearing my reply.

While it was enjoyable to exchange greetings in English and Chinese, I came to the point of wanting to understand more than "hello" and "how are you?" in Chinese. So, I began to take weekly Chinese lessons. While learning Chinese is very difficult, I loved being able to practice my new words when I went into town. First, I learned how to order food, then to order drinks. I learned to tell people where I was from and that I could only speak a little Chinese. I would talk with my students at school and they would laugh at me and then try to teach me more words. Learning Chinese was challenging and a joyful experience.

At the end of the school year I was asked to give a thank-you speech in Chinese. At first I was quite intimidated. I would be speaking in front of four hundred people. I began to furiously work on my speech. I wrote my speech in Chinese and then practiced it over and over with my Chinese teacher.

The big day came. I had picked out the perfect dress, my hair was done and my speech was memorized. I stood on the stage, holding the microphone in my almost shaking hand and looked out at the people. There were the teachers that I had worked with this past year, the students that I had come to love, and the parents that had given me the privilege to teach their children. I started to speak. My voice was steady and the Chinese words were coming out of my mouth correctly. I began to tell the people in their language that I loved them and their country. I also told them I would come back to visit. They applauded and cheered when I said I thought the Taiwanese guys were handsome. I finished my speech, said thank-you and walked off the stage. I did it! I couldn't believe it. I gave a speech in Chinese.

I am still learning Chinese, but nothing beats knowing that I gave a speech in Chinese and I did it well.