Emily Cerimele Chinese and Asian Studies Distinction Portfolio

       My interest in Chinese language and Asian Studies stems from my three younger siblings, all of whom are adopted from China and Taiwan. I traveled to Taiwan twice in 2008 and 2009 with my parents to pick two of them up. While those two trips were incredible, I was more focused on my new sibling rather than exploring Taiwan and learning about Taiwanese culture. The highlights of those trips for me included visiting Taipei 101 multiple times and eating at Romano’s Macaroni Grill almost every day, a strange mixture of American and Taiwanese culture. During my childhood, I did not have many opportunities to explore Asian languages and cultures. My family celebrated Chinese New Year, but I did not have much exposure to Asian cultures because I grew up in a very white neighborhood. I started studying Chinese language in high school because I thought it would be an interesting way to learn about the language and culture of the places where my siblings were born. I continued studying Chinese in college simply because I enjoyed it. My interest in continuing to study Chinese language sparked my interest in Asian Studies.  

       Coming into college, I decided to major in psychology with the goal of pursuing a career in that field. Taking Chinese language and Asian Studies courses, however, shifted my interests. I became a psychology and Chinese double major because I wanted to keep learning Chinese language. I initially started taking Asian Studies courses to fulfill General Education requirements while taking classes related to China and Chinese culture. As I took more Asian Studies courses, however, my interest in Asian countries other than China grew. In the 2020-2021 academic year, I enrolled in the Asian Conversations Program and gained a more comprehensive global picture of Asia through learning about art, history, literature, political science, and more. Following my completion of the Asian Conversations Program, I added a concentration in Asian Studies. During my study abroad in Taiwan, I enrolled in more Asian Studies courses, and at that point realized that I had basically taken enough courses to complete the major. The fall of my senior year, I added the Asian Studies major and became a triple major in Psychology, Chinese, and Asian Studies.  

       My journey studying Chinese language in college has been an amazing experience but also really challenging, and I have made great efforts to engage in Chinese language learning both in and out of the classroom. At St. Olaf, I started in Chinese 231 and have taken Chinese language courses every semester of college. Entering Chinese 231 was a bit of a rocky start. My speaking and pronunciation skills were severely lacking because in my high school courses, we never worked on pronunciation and barely practiced speaking. To catch up, I put in a lot of extra work outside of class. While it got discouraging at times, and even now my pronunciation is not perfect, I have come a long way and am proud of all the work I put into it. In March 2021, Mila New, Jodie Clay, and I began hosting a weekly ksto radio show called 好久不见 where we converse in Chinese about a variety of topics including college life, language learning, and Chinese and Taiwanese language and culture. Jodie and I have continued the radio show this academic year. In Summer 2021, I participated in the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program for the study of Chinese language. Because of the pandemic, the program was virtual, but it was still an incredibly valuable experience. The 8-week intensive language study program was taught completely in Chinese. As part of the program, I also had two language partners who I met with for an hour each week. Not only did I get to practice speaking Chinese with them, but I learned a lot about Taiwan. I later got to meet both in person when I studied abroad in Taiwan in Spring 2022.

       Studying abroad in Taipei, Taiwan was a formative experience where I continued to improve my Chinese language skills and learn about Taiwanese culture. I enrolled at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), but also took classes at NTNU’s Mandarin Training Center and National Taiwan University (NTU). I took one Chinese language class and several Asian Studies courses focusing on Taiwanese history, Southeast Asian historical events, as well as the history of China, Japan, and Korea. I also participated in the International Companions for Learning (ICL) cultural exchange program and gave weekly virtual presentations on American culture to Taiwanese middle-school students. I met other international students from America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Indonesia and made several Taiwanese friends as well.

When I studied abroad in Taiwan, I made it my goal to speak Chinese as much as possible. Because speaking is my weak point, I get very nervous speaking in front of or with other people, so I knew this would be challenging. To help myself overcome my fear I fully drilled it in my mind that if there were no instances where I looked like the stupid white girl who could not speak Chinese then I wasn’t trying hard enough, and I was not learning anything. That strategy proved to be very effective and gave me a level of confidence that I had never experienced before. I initiated interactions with Taiwanese classmates and spoke Chinese with them as much as possible. I used Chinese in my daily life around Taipei, even if I knew I could get by with English. In addition, my roommate and I were the only two students in our Chinese class that was mainly focused on presentations and speaking, which forced me to work on my speaking. Doing all this did not just help my language skills, but it also helped me improve my overall self-confidence.

       During and after the semester, I had the opportunity to travel around the country which really helped deepen my understanding of Taiwan as a whole and Taiwanese culture. Over spring break, I traveled with four other students to Tainan. After the semester ended, Nate Trasowech and I spent four unforgettable weeks traveling around Taiwan. We went to Taichung, Sun Moon Lake, Kaohsiung, Penghu, Hualien, Yilan, and then back to Taipei. As we traveled south, we heard more Taiyu and indigenous languages. Each place had new foods to try, sites to see, and things to learn about. We had so many amazing experiences. It also deepened my understanding of Asia as a whole. There are many different peoples and cultures within Asia but considering that Taiwan has so many cultures just within a tiny island country makes one reflect just on how rich and vast Asia’s cultural variety truly is.

       As a senior, I have continued to engage with Asian Studies both in and out of the classroom. In Fall 2021, I joined Asian Studies in Action (ASiA), a club focused on presentations and discussions around different topics in Asia. The club went inactive after that semester, but this spring, I am working with a group of students to revive the club. Our goal is to expand people’s knowledge and perceptions of Asia and explore topics and countries beyond those mainly focused on in the Asian studies courses, which are China, Japan, and Korea. While those countries have long histories and amazing cultures, they fall short of encompassing all that Asia is. During this 2022-2023 academic year, I also have worked as a Chinese language tutor for Chinese 111 and 112. It has been an amazing experience helping other students learn the language that I love learning, and it makes me reflect on my own language-learning journey. This spring, I took the opportunity to combine my interests in psychology and Asian Studies by creating an independent research course in psychology called “Emerging Adulthood in Asia”. In this course, I will be writing two essays focusing on different countries and aspects of emerging adulthood and people’s perceptions of what it means to be a successful adult. My first essay focuses on China, and my second essay will focus on India.   

       I hope to continue to use my Asian Studies knowledge and Chinese language skills in my future career after graduation. I am strongly considering two career directions. Coming into college, I planned to pursue a career in clinical psychology, and I am still considering that. Participating in CLS, however, sparked my interest in a career in international affairs, particularly in careers where I could continue to use my Chinese language skills and Asian studies knowledge after graduation. Whichever career I end up in, however, I hope to continue to develop my Chinese language skills and use my knowledge of Asian studies. I am excited for the future and excited to see where life will take me after graduation. I am thankful for the amazing professors and experiences I have had studying Chinese and Asian Studies at St. Olaf.