The item in this picture is a learning tool that’s helpful for learning and looking up Chinese characters, phrases, and poems. The yellow buttons are different functional keys while the ones blue are consonants and the ones in red are vowels. My family and I came across this strange gadget one night as we were strolling around the streets of Guangdong. My dad was always particularly fond of the electronics store because of all the new advances in technology. As a child, he didn’t have the luxury of computers and smartphones like we do now so he enjoys seeing the current trending items in the market. He would stop by the store every time we took a night stroll so sometimes my mom would lead us a different route just to avoid the store. On this particular night, my dad was especially excited to visit the store again because he only recently came back from a successful business trip and hasn’t had the chance to come by the place. As he inspected the displays, my sister and I dragged my mom around the store to point out shiny objects she was obviously not interested in. All of a sudden, my dad came from behind and told us, “Hurry up, follow me!” We didn’t know what to expect but it definitely sounded urgent.

We arrived at the display counter he was previously at and he showed us a newer model of the phone he had, which he wanted to purchase. My mom was less than impressed and said, “That’s it? Your old phone still works fine, why do you need a new one? Why don’t you get a treat to congratulate your children’s grades?” My sister and I had just received our test back earlier that day, which we both did great on, so my mom told us we should ask our dad for a reward. When we showed him our tests, he told us good job and that he’ll definitely get us whatever we wanted when we go out tonight. Obviously, I wanted a new toy but my sister was modest so she said she didn’t want anything. Sensing that he might lose out on business, the salesman immediately chimed in and said, “I know just the thing you’re looking for.” He quickly scurried a few counters down and came back with a green object. The salesperson explained that the tool was a very popular item for kids these days to assist them in learning Chinese. My dad pushed my sister to test it out to see if she likes it while I, too short to reach the counter, got my mom to lift me up so I could push the buttons on the thing. After a little bit of messing around, I fell in love with the sound it makes and I could tell my sister liked it too but she was too shy to say. Knowing us, my dad decided to buy the gadget to serve the duo purpose of being our prize for a job well done and as a reference or practice tool for developing our Chinese.

The next thing I know I’m living in New York. My mom’s relative had sponsored her to come to the U.S. along with my sister and I but it didn’t include my dad. For five long years, we were separated. Immigration was quite a change because of the new environment and people. To try to feel more at home, my sister and I brought several items with us that we knew we could only get from China. One of those items was the Chinese learning tool our dad got us. The tool reminded us of our dad and hearing our native tongue from the machine was like hearing his voice. The tool was a constant reminder of our parents’ sacrifice to come to the U.S. They constantly answered our question about why we came to America by saying it was for our education and better opportunities. We took it to heart that since our parents were willing to go through with such a hard decision of living separately, that we too should fulfill our parents’ wish and study hard in school. Even though my family is now whole again and I haven’t touched the tool in ages, not to mention even remembering I still had it until my dad brought it up when I asked him what I should photograph for this project, the tool holds many of my childhood memories. Its significance outshines that of any other trophies and medals that I keep beside it.