Participating in the Chinese Summer Language, Culture and Technology Initiative in Hangzhou has been one of my aspirations as a novice Chinese language student. For these past three years, learning Chinese has not only opened me up to a new culture that I wish to further learn about, but it has also helped me discover my eagerness to learn other languages. As the oldest child of Mexican immigrants, I find myself to be the example setter for not only my sister, but also my younger family members who have not had the opportunity to yet step outside of our cultural bubble. Not only would this trip allow me to further study Chinese, but it would also give me the opportunity to learn about the approach taken by another country for protection of …show more content…
However, it has also restricted me from ever learning about a culture and way of life other than my own. It was not until I entered Northside that I was able to step out of that cultural bubble and for the first time experience a culture other than my own. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the spring trip to China that the school had last year. Although it was only nine days long, it truly left a big impression on me. I remember on the last day, while most of the people who were also on the trip began to feel homesick, I wished that the trip could be extended so that we could experience a lot more new things. Even now, almost a year later, I still imagine myself eating peking duck with my friends, or going to the Shanghai Museum and walking through the Ancient Chinese Sculptures exhibit. Although I was given the touristic perspective of the country, every detail from that trip stuck with …show more content…
While I associate myself with more of the mathematical and chemical part of STEM, learning about the environment, along with the global changes caused by human activity is a great interest of mine. Given the opportunity to learn about clean energy science and understanding more of the means taken by another country, one with a population density and area much greater than the U.S., would be an opportunity to continue to study new methods than can be implemented in order to reduce a country’s carbon footprint. With air pollution being one of the greatest concerns in China, as well as one of the biggest factors of global warming, learning about alternative methods of generating energy that reduce the amount of harmful compounds released and how they are implemented in a densely populated area, such as Hangzhou, would help understand the positive effect that they can have on the environment and the