Anthropax's Old Blog

...because it now can't bully South American countries into doing what it wants. "We're concerned about the leftist countries that are dealing with China," says Congressman Dan Burton, the Republican chairman of the sub-committee on the Western Hemisphere. "It's extremely important that we don't let a potential enemy of the US become a dominant force in this part of the world." However, Chinese influence in Latin America is gaining grounds: In Sao Paulo, Chinese language classes are packed. Not only are students taught how to speak Mandarin, but they are also guided in cultural habits such as attending banquets and singing Chinese folk songs. "Everything I do is with China now," says one student Priscila Marques, who runs a freight forwarding company. "It's Brazil-China; nowhere else." Mandarin is definitely the language to learn now (along with Arabic, but for different reasons...), and quite a few schools in the UK are starting to teach it. My little brother and sister are getting ready to start secondary education, and I would hope that the schools and government start to promote Mandarin classes. I wish I'd had a chance to learn it at school, but, well, there we are...