"I never thought I would learn a new language besides English and Japanese. Mastering Mandarin over the past three years has been my greatest achievement." — MIKA

Taking to Weibo on May 18th, MIKA shared an update about his visit to Huangguoshu Waterfall, where he even assisted a local lady in purchasing tickets, showcasing his growing confidence in Mandarin proficiency.

Releasing his debut solo album, embarking on solo tours, learning Mandarin, and exploring various cities across China... From Hawaii to Tokyo and then to Beijing, MIKA's "drifting life" has never ceased. Now, China is a base for him to embrace a broader world.

Greatest achievement: From zero Mandarin proficiency to seamless communication

MIKA 's journey in China began three years ago. At the age of 16, he left his hometown, Hawaiian, to Tokyo for formal music training. Little did he anticipate visiting China, but fate had other plans. "I really wanted to join Produce Camp 2021 (Chuang 2021) because I hadn't participated in such a talent show before. I thought it was a great opportunity. So, I came to China," he revealed.

Making his debut on the Chinese talent show stage with his iconic "kiwi" hairstyle, emotional English ballads, and zero Mandarin proficiency, MIKA quickly captured public attention. Reflecting on his linguistic journey, he expressed, "I never thought I would learn a new language besides English and Japanese. Mastering Mandarin over the past three years has been my greatest achievement."

From a struggling beginner to a fluent communicator, MIKA credits his progress in Mandarin to daily interactions: "During 'Produce Camp 2021,' I couldn't speak Mandarin at all. Since debuting as part of INTO1, I have been speaking Mandarin every day, chatting with friends every day. I think this is the most important learning approach."

Greatest wish: Touring more cities in China

From Hawaii to Tokyo and then to Beijing, from English to Chinese, MIKA has been constantly "drifting" among different environments. Inspired by this, last year, MIKA participated in the entire process of album production and released his debut solo album "Bleached".

"Over the past three years, I've been covering a lot of Chinese slow-beat songs and listening to such songs. I think it's already influenced my songwriting process. Sometimes the melodies I create embody the style of Chinese songs I like," MIKA said, expressing his desire to integrate Chinese elements into his music in the future.

As a cross-cultural creator, he admits that he still needs to work hard to overcome language barriers in his creation process. After releasing his solo album, in December last year, MIKA  embarked on a nationwide solo tour from Guangzhou. Talking about his next goals, he said, "To tour more cities in China, especially those I haven't been to before."

Tastes developed in China: Enjoying mahjong and loving tomato egg stir-fry

In his spare time, MIKA  enjoys exploring the world. On his social media account, he launched a series of vlogs themed around urban exploration, with his footprints covering places like Macao, New York, Milan, Suzhou, and Chengdu. In Chengdu, he fulfilled his wish to play mahjong.

"I really enjoy learning such games. When I was a member of INTO1, I learned gomoku (five in a row) from my friend Lin Mo," MIKA  recalled the process of getting to know mahjong. "I think learning Chinese games is very interesting. During a shoot, my colleagues shared with me what everyone does during the Chinese New Year. They taught me to play mahjong, and I find it very fun. I often play Sichuan mahjong, but I think I can play mahjong from other regions too."

Among the Chinese cities he has visited, MIKA  mentioned Guangzhou. For MIKA, this is similar to Hawaii and has a lot of delicious food. When it comes to Chinese cuisine he has tried, MIKA seems undecided: "My favorite Chinese dish is tomato egg stir-fry. Before visiting China, I had never eaten tomato egg stir-fry. After coming to China, I discovered the delicious dish."

爱上打麻将的好意思日混血艺东谈主米卡：在中国最大的收货是学习汉文

“之前我没念念到除了英文和日语，我会学习新的谈话。这三年学习汉文，是我最大的收货。”—米卡

“我今天去了黄果树大瀑布，还教了一个大姨若何买票，没念念到我的汉文这样好。”5月18日，好意思日混血艺东谈主米卡在微博上更新了这样一条动态，字里行间知道出他对汉文水平的自信。

刊行首张个东谈主专辑、开启个东谈主巡演、学汉文、游历中国不同的城市……从夏威夷到东京再到北京，米卡的“漂浮东谈主生”从未留步，当今正以中国为基点拥抱更宽阔的世界。

要是要用一首歌往来归在中国发展的这三年，米卡遴荐了我方的歌——《那一刻我认为这世上不会有比我更可爱你的东谈主了》。“当今我在中国生涯，我嗅觉挺昂扬的，但愿我不错在中国留住来责任。”

最大的收货：从汉文零基础到无防碍调换

米卡和中国的故事，始于三年前。早在16岁时，他就告别了家乡夏威夷火奴鲁鲁，到日本东京收受系统的音乐培训。彼时的他从未念念过我方会踏足中国，然则走时时有惊喜，“其时我很念念去《创造营2021》，因为我没插足过这样的选秀节目，我认为是一个很好的契机，也因此来到了中国。”

首次登上中国选秀舞台时，米卡以标记性的“猕猴桃”发型、深情的英文抒怀歌饰演和零基础的汉文抒发走入公众视线。三年夙昔，他的发型依旧，而汉文水平大幅擢升。“之前我没念念到除了英文和日语，我会学习新的谈话。这三年的中体裁习，我认为是我最大的收货。”

从入门乍练到无防碍调换，米卡将汉文上的超越归功于经常的调换：“当我以INTO1的身份出谈后，不错每天说汉文，跟一又友们每天聊天，是以我嗅觉这是最大的、最过错的学习要津。”

《创造营2021》当作米卡与中国结缘的发轫，揭开了他以须眉团体INTO1出谈的东谈主生新篇章。旧年团体赶走了两年的扬弃期，宣告崇拜毕业，由此开启了他个东谈主的音乐之旅。

缓缓成长的自信与他这三年来的演艺阅历密不可分，也离不开中国粉丝的因循：“我认为中国粉丝齐很好，极度关切。我在舞台上的时候，是因为他们，我变得更自信，不错很昂扬肠享受舞台。”

最大的愿望：但愿能在更多城市巡演

从夏威夷到东京再到北京，从英文到汉文，米卡一直在不同的环境中“漂浮”，回首可能会跟着期间荏苒“漂色”，但总会在某个期间留存当下最深远的感受。以此为灵感，旧年，米卡推出了首张个东谈主专辑《bleached漂》，并尝试参与专辑制作的全进程。

“这三年，我一直在翻唱许多汉文慢歌，我嗅觉如故影响到了我写歌的过程。巧合候我创作的旋律，有点像我可爱的汉文歌的立场。”米卡默示，改日他但愿学习将中国元素融入音乐作品之中。

与此同期，当作跨文化的创作家，他坦言在创作中仍需戮力克服谈话关：“因为我的汉文还没到最理念念的进程，我还不可写汉文歌词，目下相比难写汉文歌，亦然我当今遭逢最大的问题。我但愿不错迟缓地学习若何用汉文写歌词。”

继刊行个东谈主专辑后，旧年12月，米卡自广州开启寰球个东谈主巡演。谈及接下来的方针时，他默示：“在中国更多的城市开巡演，尤其是我没去过的城市。要是不错辞世界各地开巡演，那也很好。”

最中国的醉心：可爱打麻将、爱吃番茄炒蛋

责任之余，米卡可爱用脚步丈量世界。在酬酢平台账号上，他推出了以城市探索为主题的系列vlog，脚迹遍布澳门、纽约、米兰、苏州、成齐等地。其中，在成齐，他完成了“搓麻将”的愿望。

“我很可爱学习这样的游戏，我铭刻在INTO1的时候，我跟我的一又友林墨启动学习五子棋。”米卡笑着回忆起我方了解麻将的过程，“我认为学中国的游戏很真谛。在一次拍摄中我的共事们教授了我打麻将，当今我认为极度好玩，频繁打四川麻将。”

在去过的中国城市中，米卡还提到了广州，因为这座城市给他的嗅觉和夏威夷很像，何况有许多好意思食。而论及最可爱的中国好意思食，米卡显得难以抉择：“我最可爱的中国好意思食照旧番茄炒鸡蛋。因为在海外我没吃过，恶果来中国之后发现存这样厚味的食品，是以到当今为止我最可爱这谈菜。”

和中国一又友们沿途去旅游，是米卡的心愿之一。“我念念去的第一个所在是三亚，我很念念去玩，去冲浪、去冒险。除了三亚，我认为不错去内蒙古和新疆，不错去爬山、赏山，我认为也会很真谛。”

总筹划｜孙爱群

统筹｜蒋铮 赵鹏

案牍、台本｜曾潇 古司祺 付怡 戚好意思青 胡广欣

视频｜黎杰文 温泽广

海报｜李焕菲

翻译｜刘佳慧