When Rachel Weiss moved from New York to Shanghai in 2020, she didn’t expect her biggest challenge to be ordering bubble tea. “I accidentally asked for ‘hot frogs’ instead of ‘hot milk tea’ once,” she laughs. 🐸☕
This UN Chinese Language Day (April 20), Rachel’s story of perseverance – complete with language slip-ups – highlights how Mandarin bridges cultures. From decoding ancient poetry to bargaining at local markets, she’s found vocabulary to be “a skeleton key” unlocking hidden layers of Chinese society.
📈 Over 30 million people worldwide now study Chinese, per UNESCO. “It’s not just characters on paper,” Rachel says. “Learning tones taught me to listen differently – to language, yes, but also to people.”
Got a #LanguageWin or hilarious mix-up? Drop your story below – we’re all learning here! 🌍🗣️✨
