The Ascent Of Mandarin

Only here for the treats…

ou can always tell it’s a good festival not by the colourful culture on display, or the talented children, or the rich historical artifacts and art, but by the free food.

Man, the nosh up at the 2nd Chinese Character Festival in Educate Together was top agus notch.

Of course, the colourful culture, rich history and all that zheng were mighty impressive too.

Put together by the mighty Evan Furlong – who runs a Chinese Studies class for kids every Wednesday afternoon in the school – this year’s festival was even bigger and better than last year’s shindig.

Mind you, given that Taiwan is the largest economy outside of the United Nations, it’s hardly surprising that this fine festival has grown. And will continue to grow.

Is it any wonder Taipei ambassador Simon Tu was smiling from ear to ear…?

We managed to grab five minutes with Miss Taiwan, Yuchun Huang – or Hanna, if you’re in a hurry – to talk about her native country, her adopted home of Ireland (having studied here for the last five years), and why there are 23.5m people out there who find pale ginger people attractive…

You can find out more about Taiwan right about here, the Taiwan Center For Mandarin Learning here, and about the Taiwan-Ireland Student Association – of which Hanna is currently president – right here.