Stories

The NSLI-Y program languages include Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian, Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian and Turkish. Listed below are all multimedia stories written, and shared by NSLI-Y students, alumni, partners, and supporters. These stories include all NSLI-Y program languages and are ordered chronologically from the most recent post.

Alumni and current students, join the conversation by submitting your own story.

Click on a language below to see stories and media related to a specific NSLI-Y program language:

Displaying Chinese (Mandarin) stories from .

An image of Ben Marcus-Willers in the mountains

Chinese (Mandarin)

‘The Chai Guy’: An Alum’s Passion for Tea and Chinese Comes to a Crossroad

By Ben Marcus-Willers, Academic Year 2012-13, Kaohsiung, Taiwan It all started with a high school social studies project on the tea growing culture of East Asia...
An image of the NSLI-Y Alumni Reps posing with a NSLI-Y banner

Global

Learning How to ‘Rep’: The 2020 NSLI-Y Alumni Representative Workshop

Hello! My name is Halden, and I am the NSLI-Y Alumni Representative for Chapel Hill, NC in the Southeast region. Traveling to Chengdu, China in 2018 through NSL...
Sarah posing in front of a Taiwanese cityscape

Chinese (Mandarin)

The Sounds of Chaishan (柴山的聲音）

Noah is from Plano, TX and participated in the 2018-19 Chinese (Mandarin) Academic Year program in Taiwan. In Taiwan, I spent most of my time at the university...
Shivam poses in front of a crowd of people in China

Chinese (Mandarin)

My Experience in China / 我在中国的经历

Shivam is from Saratoga, CA and participated in the Chinese Summer program 2019 in China. As exciting as the prospect of studying abroad for an extended period ...
A banner that reads "Celebrating underrepresented stories abroad" and shows an image of NSLI-Y students sitting on a bench.

Chinese (Mandarin)

Pablo Gutierrez: Setting the Tone for Language Learning

Pablo Gutierrez's music teacher gave him his first introduction to Chinese language and culture. To further this interest, he attended Mandarin Startalk summe...
A banner that reads "celebrating underrepresented stories abroad" and shows an image of Natalie in China

Chinese (Mandarin)

Rewarding Challenges: Natalie in China

Natalie Johnson was raised in Milwaukee. As a child, she developed an interest in East Asia through her passion for anime. During her junior year of high school...
an image of Pierce in Taiwan in front of multi-colored dragon statues

Chinese (Mandarin)

My Best Advice: Worry vs. Reality

Pierce is from Virginia Beach, VA and participated in the 2019 Chinese summer program in Taiwan. The best advice I got before spending the summer in Kaohsiung, ...
Hassane standing in front of a green landscape in Taiwan

Chinese (Mandarin)

Being a Superhero Abroad

Hassane is from Westchester, NY and participated in the 2019 Summer Chinese program in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
An image of Chance sitting at a table to eat with their NSLI-Y cohort

Chinese (Mandarin)

Foreigners from a Foreigner’s View

Chance is from Missoula, MT and participated in the NSLI-Y Chinese Academic Year 2018-2019 program in Taiwan. The first week I spent in Taiwan, I hardly saw any...