Yi,er,san,si,wu,liu,qi,Wodeliwuzaizheli.

AjumbleofstrangesoundsforeigntomillionsofAnastasiaPrytkova'sRussiancompatriotsslipoffhertongueaseffortlesslyasifshehadbeenutteringthemsinceshewasababy.Throwinadelightfulmelody,andsuddenlytheChineselanguagedoesnotseemasintimidatingandasdifficultasitisusuallycrackeduptobe.

Whatshespeaksmeans"One,two,three,four,five,six,seven,mygiftishere."

Andwhatagiftthisis,onethathasputninth-graderAnastasiafromNovosibirsk,Russia,onapaththatislikelytoshapeherlife.

ForthepastthreeyearsshehasbeenstudyingMandarinonlinewithaRussianteacher,cultivatingherfascinationwithacountryshehassofarhadnophysicalcontactwith.

"Myfavoritefoodiskungpaochicken,"shesaidinChinese.ThedishisafavoriteinSichuanprovince,thehomeofspicyfood,andisaplaceshedreamsofvisiting.SeeingtheGreatWallandtheTerracottaWarriorsisalsoonherwishlist,butfornow,thereisstillplentyofChineselearningtodo.

Anastasiaisawareofthechallengeahead,evenasshesensestherichrewardsthatawaither.Heraimistobecomeatransportationengineerandtopursueamaster'sdegreeataChineseuniversity.

Hermother,OksanaPrytkova,viewsChinaastheidealtraininggroundfortheskillsAnastasiawantstomaster.Pointingtoherdaughter'spassionforroboticsandprogramming,shesaid:"InthesedisciplinesitmakessensetostudyChinese,becausethereisalotworthlearninginChina."