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Chinese is supposed to be my second language, but it was one of my weakest subjects in school.

I was so bad that my teachers felt better off if I slept at the back of the class or left early for recess. One hapless instructor even provided me with extra hints to help me pass the exams, but it was futile. Force-fed with Chinese textbooks and tuition, I lost the little interest in the language I had and instead developed an aversion for it that made me skip class at every opportunity.

I was one of those youngsters many Singaporean Chinese teased as "potato eaters" - choosing a Western spud-filled diet over rice or noodles as staples.