Nathalie Brzesowsky performs kuaiban at the Chinese Bridge Competition. [Photo/WeChat account: NYUShanghai]

Nathalie Brzesowsky, a freshman at NYU Shanghai, has been attracted to Chinese culture since childhood.

She has studied Chinese since she was 10 years old and gave herself the Chinese name of Lin Chuxia.

According to Brzesowsky, it is the huge cultural difference that aroused her interest in Chinese culture at first, prompting her to learn more about China. She noted that the more she got to learn about China, the more Chinese culture appealed to her.

She won the championship in the American group and finished in second place overall at the 2018 Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Global Middle School Students.

In an interview, Brzesowsky said that among the many Chinese cultural activities that she was interested in, her favorite was playing kuaiban, a traditional Chinese form of storytelling recited to the rhythm of bamboo clappers. She even came to China to learn skills from master teachers.

She said that kuaiban has brought her closer to Chinese people quickly. She used to spend all morning practicing performing kuaiban with Chinese kuaiban enthusiasts in a park in Beijing.

The traditional Chinese folk art of kuaiban fascinates Brzesowsky. To speak the lines well, she kept practicing pronunciation, contributing to greater progress in her Chinese proficiency.

Brzesowsky also likes playing the guzheng, a Chinese zither, playing the nine-section whip, one of the soft instruments in traditional Wushu movement, as well as reading poetry and making dumplings.

She has been to many cities in China, noting that local residents' attitudes towards life, such as valuing family and health, as well as their hospitality have left a deep impression on her.

When discussing her future studies at NYU Shanghai, Brzesowsky said that Shanghai is an energetic city and that she hoped to make use of this opportunity to improve her Chinese proficiency.

Nathalie Brzesowsky plays the guzheng. [Photo/WeChat account: NYUShanghai]

Nathalie Brzesowsky (R2) practices playing kuaiban with local residents at the Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing. [Photo/WeChat account: NYUShanghai]