Author Spotlight
Jackie Cameron
Junior Sienna Sun looks to her sister, senior Sophie Sun, expectantly — she’s waiting for her to throw the light-up green Chinese yo-yo in the air so she can catch it on her own yo-yo string.
Sophie creates momentum, spinning and catapulting the yo-yo in the air (thank goodness the ceilings are tall in the Nelson), while Sienna extends her lonesome yo-yo string for the catch. Success.
For the past seven years, Sophie and Sienna have performed Chinese yo-yo routines at the Nelson Atkins Muesuem’s annual Chinese New Year celebration with the Chinese School of Greater Kansas City. They’ve learned tricks like “the whip,” and choreographed younger kids’ performances. Sienna even created her own move where she throws the yo-yo up, completes five jump ropes with the string and catches the spinning yo-yo.
On top of high school, the sisters attended this school where they dedicated three hours every Sunday for 12 years until graduating in 2018. During these Sundays spent reading, writing and speaking Mandarin Chinese, both sisters feel they’ve deepened their connection with their Taiwanese Grandma and gained an appreciation for their cultural traditions.
Their dad, Charlie Sun, moved from Taiwan with his parents when he was eight years old. He and his wife, Mariann, enrolled their daughters in the Chinese School of Greater Kansas City so they could learn the language and culture Mr. Sun grew up with.
Mr. Sun had to convince them to attend Chinese School when they first started — his daughters didn’t understand the usefulness of the language, so he used the Chinese yo-yo extracurricular as a “carrot” to get them to go — he knew they loved learning new tricks with the shiny toys. Plus he knew if they began at a younger age, the language would be easier to retain.
“I know what [my family is] saying. I can speak back to them and I also know some of their traditions,” Sophie said. “I can carry those on and enjoy them and really know what the true meaning is.”
The school has around 100 students, and an average of 10 students per grade. The students follow a set curriculum, use a workbook and take regular quizzes and tests like any other school. The only difference is they learn about traditional writing techniques of Mandarin, instead of algebra and biology. Their school year is the same length as a typical public school calendar and, just like Shawnee Mission East, they’re given homework and receive grades.
Although Sophie and Sienna didn’t always appreciate the added homework to their mile-high-pile of Honors English and chemistry work, the two found joy in the FaceTime calls to their grandma over how to make their sentences follow the correct grammar or ways to perfect their strokes on Chinese characters became the norm.
They also used their routine homework sessions to schedule their next lunch date at Bo Lings with their Grandma or listen to the latest updates on her life — all in Chinese of course.
Without her familiarity with the language, Sienna thinks she would be disconnected from her Grandma’s life and traditions.
“I think [learning about the culture] definitely keeps that tradition,” Sienna said. “Taiwanese people definitely try to stick with it and spread it to other people. They’re very open.”
According to Sophie, the classes helped her out when her and Sienna traveled to Taiwan with their family for two months in 2015. Sophie found herself reading street signs and restaurant menus with ease. All those workbook assignments and quizzes allowed Sophie to fully immerse herself in her family’s culture without being held back by reliance on Google translate.
Their Grandma knows the island from top to bottom. Had Sophie and Sienna not maintained a relationship with their hemisphere-crossed relationship relative, the trip would have felt far more unfamiliar and the girls more unsure. Their Grandma’s connections also meant they kept up with their schooling, spending two weeks at a local school, shadowing one of their family friends.
In the humid, muggy rooms, the girls sat in classes, listening to history lessons, speaking fragments of English with other students, and helping sweep and clean the bathroom sinks. It was labor that took place in stiflingly hot classrooms, but Sienna found it to be the best bonding time with her classmates. They talked freely about whatever they wanted, whereas during class time, she sat quietly in the back of the room.
Sienna felt her time in Chinese School in Kansas made her more open to embracing the different school style and traditions. Rather than being confused when her lunch was brought to her and other students pulled out their own personal dishes and cups at the Taiwan school, she felt like she was back celebrating Chinese New Year in Kansas. Although she could’ve done with less vegetables because “at least half” of it was greens, she understood the custom.
“If I wasn’t exposed to cultural idiosyncrasies, I feel like I would be more criticizing of the Chinese school in Taiwan,” Sienna said. “But I was used to that already, so it really helped me down there.”
Even after graduating, both sisters are still involved in the school — Sophie serves on the board as an alumni and both help teach yo-yo practice. With the board, Sophie brings a student perspective to topics like what food to offer during snacktimes or how to improve the events they host. Instead of pretending to be “asleep” when it was time to go to school like she used to do when she first started, she’s sitting in on board meetings and choreographing younger students’ yo-yo performances.
“It’s really cool that they can learn the language and we have something we can share together,” Mr Sun said.
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