STORY: An American lady's decade-long Chinese learning journey
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 9, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 20, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:46
LOCATION: DALLAS, U.S.
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of cityscape in Dallas, U.S. (File)
2. various of China (File)
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
4. various of China (File)
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
6. various of China (File)
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
8. various of China (File)
9. various of cityscape in Dallas, U.S. (File)
10. various of Qujing City in China
11. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
12. various of cityscape in Shanghai (File)
13. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
14. various of China (File)

STORYLINE:

Learning Chinese is more than learning a language, said Juliet Thomas, a 62-year-old entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company.

Inspired by her grandmother's cherished book about China, Juliet embarked on her magical journey from language learning to cultural exploration.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
"This book about China she had was very precious. So I would sit on her lap, and we would read this book. So from a very, very young age, 3 maybe 4 years old, I was fascinated by China. And she would always tell me when I grow up, I should be able to go to China."

Her dream of visiting China took root ever since and finally materialized in 2009 when her husband was invited to attend a conference in Beijing.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company 
"My husband was speaking at a conference in Beijing. He was a keynote speaker. And so he brought me along. And it was absolutely magical. It was my birthday. And the whole conference sang 'Happy Birthday' to me in Chinese. And I was in love."

Following another memorable trip to China in 2012, Juliet started her formal Chinese language study guided by a native Chinese tutor.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
"We went back (to China) in 2012 and had a wonderful time. So my husband for Christmas that year bought me time with teacher Li. And that's how I started learning the language. And once I started learning the language, it was fascinating. I love characters. She introduced them to me in such a wonderful way of understanding the components of them. And the meanings behind the components is fascinating to me."

With the help of several Chinese learning apps and social media accounts, Juliet enriches her Chinese study through a three-hour weekly class at a local university and works closely with her current Chinese teacher.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
"My current teacher lives in Yunnan's Qujing (City). And he is very different from teacher Li, who is a Shanghai native.
There's more and more apps on the phone. There's more and more classes around. I can find more books online. It has really helped."

Reflecting on her past decade's experience, Juliet said that learning Chinese is more than learning a language.

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): JULIET THOMAS, Entrepreneur of a U.S. publishing company
"It's a benefit to see the world from a different perspective. I think it's so important right now to be able to see things through other people's eyes.
But I feel like the benefit comes from the journey of learning, not necessarily how good you get in the end. I think the world would be a much better place if people felt like they understood Chinese and Chinese people better."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Dallas, U.S.
(XHTV)