Trip To China Rewards Shaker Heights High Alum

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH — Ose Arheghan fell in love with Chinese culture seven years ago, when she began learning the languages in Shaker Heights middle and high school. This year, as a college student, she was given the opportunity to spend 10 days in the nation.

She was able to visit the growing Asian superpower thanks to an essay contest through the Confucius Institute. Ose wrote about her experiences as a member of the Shaker Heights High Confucius Classroom and won the 2017 contest. Her reward was a trip to China.

"This was my first opportunity to see China in person and it truly brought to life some of the things I've been learning about for years in the classroom setting," Ose told Patch. "I had the opportunity to see a regional Chinese opera that I remember learning about in high school which was my favorite part of the trip."

While in China, Ose reconnected with her high school Chinese teacher, Raina Li, at the Confucius Institute Conference. She said it was "special" to see her instructor.

Ose also visited Beijing and Chengdu. She climbed the Great wall, saw the Forbidden City, went to the Olympic Village, stayed with a host family, and attended classes at a local high school and college. Her entire trip was filmed by a documentary film crew.

"The trip reinforced the idea that learning Chinese can open so many doors for me," she said.

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She added that spending time in Asia gave her a better understanding of the cultures that have fascinated her for more than half-a-decade.

"Since coming home I've been doubling down on my Chinese language acquisition. My studies for these upcoming semesters are a lot more focused on Chinese language and culture than they were before and I'm actually looking into adding a Chinese major," she said. "I passed my first HSK exam and I'll be taking the next few in the coming months as I continue leaning Chinese at OSU. I'm hoping to spend a year studying in China before I'm finished with undergrad."

Still a freshman at Ohio State University, Ose has plenty of time to grow and utilize her newfound appreciation for Chinese culture.

Photo from Confucius Institute U.S. Center