'China and Me'

COEUR d'ALENE — Annelisa Wu said one of the first things that stuck out to her during a childhood visit to China was it was a cultural norm to first refuse a gift multiple times before finally accepting.

"They take politeness to a whole new level," said Wu, a 22-year-old senior at the University of Idaho. "Then I come back to the states as a kid and someone tries to give me something. I immediately say 'No, no, no I don't want that' and they just took it away. I was like 'Wow, bummer, I really wanted that package of cookies,' or whatever it was."

In April, Wu, who grew up in Hayden, channeled some of her earliest experiences with Chinese culture, as well as what she described as "counter culture shock" upon returning to the states, for a speech that earned her second place in the sixth annual Chinese Bridge language competition in Boston. The competition, which tests students on Chinese language and knowledge of Chinese culture, takes place in various cities across the nation and is sponsored by Confucius Institute Headquarters and the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China.

"It was definitely exciting," Wu told The Press. "I was just kind of blown away with how good some people are with Chinese. I was honored and thankful to place second."

Wu's father, Frank, is of Chinese decent and still has family members living in China. For Wu, that meant traveling to China frequently at a young age, and learning the language as well.

"My parents thought it would be cool if my brother and I could be bilingual so they worked on that with us when we were kids," she said.

Those experiences formed the foundation of her four-minute speech, entitled "China and Me," that she gave in Chinese during the competition. They also led the English major to pursue additional education in the language and culture when she began attending the University of Idaho.

"I discovered that they don't have a minor yet but they offer classes through the advanced level," Wu said. "I've been taking Chinese there for about a year."

Hexian Xue, Wu's Chinese language instructor, was the one who told Wu about the opportunity to compete in the Chinese Bridge language competition.

"I believe Annelisa has clearly demonstrated that students from the University of Idaho can learn Chinese and compete on a national level," Xue said in a press release. "We hope other UI students will feel challenged and inspired to learn Chinese. Chinese is not as insurmountable as many students imagine, and with hard work and dedication, I believe many more students can taste success."

For the portion of the competition that requires contestants to demonstrate their knowledge of Chinese culture, Wu chose to do a demonstration of Chinese calligraphy. She said she began working on the talent a few months ago and added it was quite the challenge.

"You can't go back and fix stuff if you don't get it right the first time," Wu said. "The pressure is soft here, heavy there — they've got it down to a science and I never knew so much went into making a character with a paint brush. Some people devote their whole lives to it."

During the competition, Wu said her biggest challenge was to not allow the pressure of a live audience to get to her. Moving her hand even slightly in the wrong direction, Wu said, would have been problematic.

"One small shake of the hand and it messes the whole thing up," she added.

Wu, along with six other winners, were given the title of "Hainan Airlines Cultural Ambassadors" as a result of their success in the competition. As ambassadors, the group will go to China on a 10-day all-inclusive tour to promote the work of the Confucius Institute's program.

In addition to thanking her professor, Wu gave special thanks to her parents, Frank and Evonne, for their support throughout the competition.