This episode presents an interview with "Jay," a Chinese software engineer based in the U.S., conducted by "宫师姐Chelsea." Jay recounts his educational and career journey, starting from his high school experience in China, his "2+2" program that involved studying in both Chinese and American universities, and his eventual pivot from engineering to computer science. He discusses the differences between Chinese and American university systems, his decision to pursue a master's degree in computer science, and his current satisfaction with his job as a programmer at a major tech company. The interview concludes with Jay's advice to "try more things when you're young," emphasizing the lower cost of failure during youth. The interviewer, Chelsea, also outlines her "Beyond the Gaokao" project's goal: to collect diverse life stories from individuals to offer high school students broader perspectives on their future choices, stressing the importance of not imposing her own subjective views.

Original article on 公众号“撞墙笔记” 《1号分享：2+2又转专业，高中不卷大学卷的大厂程序员》

宫师姐Chelsea's blog https://www.becomingchelsea.com/post/1%E5%8F%B7%E5%88%86%E4%BA%AB%EF%BC%9A2-2%E5%8F%88%E8%BD%AC%E4%B8%93%E4%B8%9A%EF%BC%8C%E9%AB%98%E4%B8%AD%E4%B8%8D%E5%8D%B7%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%A6%E5%8D%B7%E7%9A%84%E5%A4%A7%E5%8E%82%E7%A8%8B%E5%BA%8F%E5%91%98

This episode continues presenting a self-interview by "Chelsea", a product manager in the tech industry, reflecting on her journey from rural China to NYC. The piece serves as a model interview for a larger project, "Beyond the Gaokao", aimed at providing diverse life stories to high school students, offering insights into career choices and personal growth. It details her rigorous high school life, her unconventional path to choosing a university and major, and her challenging yet transformative college years marked by information overload, self-exploration, and financial hardship. The author also touches on her early career experiences and offers words of wisdom to her past self, emphasizing resilience and self-acceptance.

原文发布于公众号“撞墙笔记”《0号采访（自问自答）：从农村到大城市，从电子系到技术产品经理》

宫师姐Chelsea's original writing on her blog：https://www.becomingchelsea.com/post/0%E5%8F%B7%E9%87%87%E8%AE%BF%EF%BC%88%E8%87%AA%E9%97%AE%E8%87%AA%E7%AD%94%EF%BC%89%EF%BC%9A%E4%BB%8E%E5%86%9C%E6%9D%91%E5%88%B0%E5%A4%A7%E5%9F%8E%E5%B8%82%EF%BC%8C%E4%BB%8E%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%B0%E6%8A%80%E6%9C%AF%E4%BA%A7%E5%93%81%E7%BB%8F%E7%90%86

This episode presents a self-interview by "Chelsea", a product manager in the tech industry, reflecting on her journey from rural China to NYC. The piece serves as a model interview for a larger project, "Beyond the Gaokao", aimed at providing diverse life stories to high school students, offering insights into career choices and personal growth. It details her rigorous high school life, her unconventional path to choosing a university and major, and her challenging yet transformative college years marked by information overload, self-exploration, and financial hardship. The author also touches on her early career experiences and offers words of wisdom to her past self, emphasizing resilience and self-acceptance.

原文发布于公众号“撞墙笔记”《0号采访（自问自答）：从农村到大城市，从电子系到技术产品经理》

宫师姐Chelsea's original writing on her blog：https://www.becomingchelsea.com/post/0%E5%8F%B7%E9%87%87%E8%AE%BF%EF%BC%88%E8%87%AA%E9%97%AE%E8%87%AA%E7%AD%94%EF%BC%89%EF%BC%9A%E4%BB%8E%E5%86%9C%E6%9D%91%E5%88%B0%E5%A4%A7%E5%9F%8E%E5%B8%82%EF%BC%8C%E4%BB%8E%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%B0%E6%8A%80%E6%9C%AF%E4%BA%A7%E5%93%81%E7%BB%8F%E7%90%86

"Beyond the Gaokao", 宫师姐Chelsea's project that aims to provide high school seniors in small towns in China with insights into diverse life paths beyond their immediate academic focus. The Gaokao, short for “全国普通高等学校招生考试” (National College Entrance Examination), is China's most important standardized test. Held once a year, it plays a decisive role in determining which universities students can attend — and, for many, it can shape the rest of their lives. 宫师姐Chelsea, a former "cramming" student themselves from rural China, initiated this series to offer a broader perspective on the world and future possibilities by interviewing various professionals. The initial survey features a bunch of Google employees who reflected on their high school and college experiences, including their choices, challenges, and aspirations, and offered advice to their past selves. The project emphasizes presenting unfiltered personal stories to allow students to draw their own conclusions, avoiding subjective advice or curated narratives.

A podcast powered by both AI and a real human soul. Listen to a voice that’s honest, warm—and just happens to be in English.
Can AI understand 宫师姐’s writing? You be the judge.

Welcome to AI英语磨耳间—not just a podcast for improving your English listening skills, but a heartfelt transmission from the Chinese-speaking world. In each episode, 宫师姐 transforms her personal Chinese writings into English dialogues using AI. The result? You get to see just how well AI captures the emotion, nuance, and spirit of a human voice.

宫师姐 is a millennial from rural China, the first in her family to attend college, later earning her Master’s in Electrical Engineering. By day, she’s a seasoned product manager in the tech industry, working with algorithms, UX, and product strategy. By night, she’s an emotionally invested writer and old-school idealist who believes in reading and traveling. Her writings appear on two WeChat blogs ("撞墙笔记" and "翅膀的痕迹") and her personal site, becomingchelsea.com.

She admires Walden, Su Shi, the empathy of Oprah during her Chicago days, andThe Little Prince. She believes in connection, in breaking barriers, and above all, in the power of language—even a well-timed “how are you?” can shift your whole day.

Her path moved from dialect to Mandarin, then to English—from academic papers to global workplace calls, from a small hometown to travels across 15+ non-English-speaking countries. One thing became clear: even as the world changes, in 2025, English remains a privileged tool—a kind of VIP pass to global conversations. It’s not a magic key, but it sure unlocks a lot of windows.

The problem? If you live outside an English-speaking environment, it’s hard to find listening material that’s genuine, engaging, and un-cringey. Most stuff is either dry and robotic or sounds like textbook drills.

So she decided to make her own: emotional, thoughtful essays written in Chinese, then converted to English dialogue using AI. Has the AI truly gotten the meaning? That’s for your ears to decide.

This isn’t your typical weather-report voiceover. It’s not motivational fluff either. Expect slices of real life, bits of travel, mood swings, cultural observations—without grammar lessons, but full of fluid, literary, emotional vibes. It’s language with flavor. Stories told like a friend would tell them.

Whether you're learning English, testing how well AI understands Chinese, or just craving something a little more human in your earbuds—this space is for you.

We’re not here to push “self-improvement.”
We’re here to walk alongside you, slowly, as we get closer—
Closer to language, closer to the world,
And closer to a freer version of ourselves.