I have had an interesting abacus experience the past four years. I was curious about what an abacus was and how to use it, so I entered the abacus class in my Chinese school. I wanted to learn about abacus because I thought it could help boost my math grades, and I get to meet other students in my age group while learning abacus.

The chance to learn about the abacus was a present from my generous mom and dad. When I started learning the techniques of abacus, it wasn't as easy as it looked, but I worked very hard every day. I even had to practice during holidays and when I was on vacation in Taiwan. Throughout the years I have been learning abacus I learned mental math as well. In school, I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide faster and more accurately in math class than I normally did before starting abacus class.

I also have some awesome memories from my time learning abacus. On the day of the City Cup competition in 2008, I met the vice-mayor Mr. Shin-Jin Lee from my mother's hometown in Chia-Yi, Taiwan. I wasn't the only one who made new friends during those years; my parents and my sister did too! When we were not in class for abacus, we planned fun events with our friends from the class. I think abacus is fun because I get to learn new things, and every time when I go to abacus class, I always know that there is something fun coming up!