Found in translation

My paternal grandparents are staying with us for a couple days on a little visit.  I was raised a little bit by my grandparents when I was little, so I think that's where most of my Mandarin was learned.  I still have this video of me when I was little singing a song and reciting a poem in Chinese.

I was born in Canada and grew up a bit in the U.S., but I have somehow still managed to keep my spoken Chinese relatively intact.

Things have certainly changed...my parents and I speak in English at home since both have been working in Canada for over a decade so they're quiet fluent now.  Occasionally we dabble with Mandarin, but it's just easier to speak English.  My parents still speak to each other mostly in Chinese.

My little brother's Chinese is really bad on the other hand, since he didn't really have much Chinese spoken or taught to him when he was little, but he knows some words and can understand some, which is good.

When I was his age, a few Chinese families with young children got together in our town and took turns on Sunday teaching each other's children Mandarin.

I hated it at the time and we mostly just played, but now I regret not paying attention some more.  It's funny because when people hear me play piano, lots of people tell me that they took lessons and stopped but always wished they continued.  Persistence definitely pays off...in whatever you do.

So I guess I wish I were more fluent in Chinese?  It's always great to be able to master the language of your ancestors...not just for communication, but because it also gives you a crucial part of your identity and opens you up to a whole different culture.

Oh well - I guess I'll just keep practicing with my grandparents.