"Initially, I wanted to study Japanese, but the subject was phased out in 2006 and the school replaced it with Chinese.
"So I thought I would give it a go and see if I liked it."
Four years later, Sarah (16) is loving the language so much, she has won the South Island regional Chinese speech competition secondary category for the second successive year.
Last year, she was second in the national final, which won her a trip to Chongqing, China to watch the first-placed pupil compete in the Chinese bridge proficiency competition for foreign secondary school pupils.
"It was pretty exciting to watch people from every single country on Earth.
But I had the feeling I must do better this year because I want to compete."
This year, Sarah will be joined at the national final by fellow Columba College pupil Alexandra Jones (14), who won the South Island intermediate category of the competition.
The win came as a complete surprise to Alexandra, who only began studying Chinese this year.
"Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, so I thought it would be useful to learn," she said.
"I wasn't really expecting to win," Alexandra said.
She, too, is aiming to win her category of the national final so she can compete in China.
Both are studying hard for the final, Sarah spending up to four hours a day perfecting her skills.
"It doesn't come easy. There are subtle nuances in the pronunciation of Chinese that are hard to pick up.
"For example, the same word is used for mother and horse. The only difference is the pronunciation."
Other Chinese speakers representing Otago at the national final are University of Otago third-year Chinese students Greta Young and Anthony Costello, who were two of three people awarded first place in the college category of the South Island competition.
The national final will be held in Wellington on May 29.
