Do you believe languages have magic power? Whenever I missed my family during my stay in America, I would talk with my friend who was also in the same school in Shanghai dialect. By speaking in this way, I seemed to go back to the neighborhood where I grew up.
When I was a kid, my mom couldn't spend much time with me because of her job. To draw her attention, I began to learn German, a language she speaks well. Although at first I could only say "Ich liebe dich (I love you)". After a few months, I could have conversations with my mom.
After a trip to Israel (以色列) in high school, I became fascinated with Jewish (犹太的) culture and started to teach myself Hebrew (希伯来语). During the first months, I couldn't remember how to spell words. I couldn't remember how to spell words, but then started to understand sentences quickly. Now I have a friend in Shanghai's Jewish community.
Gradually, I realized that languages are similar in some ways. As I learned French in university, I found many French words have the same meaning as English words. Though I only started learning French half a year ago, I have started reading books in French to better understand the language.
You see languages bring me closer to the world. I walk on the streets of Paris through French novels. I admire the Jewish spirit of challenging the impossible. I will do my best to pass on the Shanghai dialect to young people. Languages make people closely related to each other, which is exactly needed in this world.