Ways to bridge gaps

A Chinese consulate encourages Americans to learn about China's language and culture, Lia Zhu reports in San Francisco.

When he started to learn Chinese as a mechanical-engineering student at the University of California-Berkeley 18 years ago, Adam Wright had little idea that the language would connect him to his future wife or help him land his current job.

"When I studied at Berkeley, more than half my friends were Chinese, so I was immersed in Chinese culture. If I wanted to get to know them a little bit deeper, I felt it was important for me to learn Chinese," says Wright, director of manufacturing at San Francisco-based NanoCore Technologies.