Why I chose a Chinese name

　　I chose a Chinese name because I am interested in the Chinese culture. I began to develop this interest when I was in college and got to know several friends who are Chinese.

　　Many of my friends have provided a natural environment for me to learn more about all that is Chinese. A particularly strong influence on me was Tan Fu Hwa, my roommate during spring 1999, who was in the US on a Construction Science exchange program with the National University of Singapore. He was really the impetus for me to start doing self-study in Mandarin and reading more about Chinese history, literature, arts, modern politics, etc.

　　I am currently enrolled in CHI 506 (Mandarin Chinese I) at UT. The name itself is written in Pinyin, the method developed in the mid-20th century by Chinese and Western scholars to make the phonetic reading of the Chinese language more accessible to people (including non-Chinese).

　　My name is written: Gao1 Ya4 Dang1

　　Among Chinese people and in many other Eastern cultures, the "last name" or surname is written first. I chose "Gao1" as a surname since it means "tall" or "high" and thus describes me: I am tall! (196 cm, or 6ft5in). "Ya4 Dang1" is a transliteration of my first name "Adam" (they sound roughly the same).