Hello! This video is getting a lot of attention so I'd like to add some information.

His name is Michael Crook. He is the son of David Crook and Isabel Crook, both parents led interesting lives in China which you can read about on wikipedia!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Crook

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Crook

I met Michael while working on a video about languages in China. It's called "China, how many languages do you speak?" and you can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtwb9YEgdHg

At first I wasn't even planning to publish this full interview. I just filmed our car ride together because his story was interesting to me and I wanted to ask more questions... Now I see there are many other people interested as well!

I hope I can meet Michael again and film more in the future.

If I filmed a Part 2, what questions should I ask?

Thank you all for your nice words 🙏 I will let Michael know that many people enjoyed hearing a bit about his story...

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PS: I'm always looking for more stories to share and people to interview. If you know someone with an interesting life story, you can get in touch :)

instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thenewtravel  
email - danvineberg (at) gmail (dot) com

i would never expect such a posh british accent and such a down to earth northern Chinese accent to come from the same guy 😭

his mother lived to be 107 and died in 2023. wow!

I read that Mr Crook's wife is a British-born Chinese. When they went to register their marriage in the UK, the staff there asked if their countries of birth were reversed 😂

YouTube can save itself with more content like this. A truly fascinating story.

He may not have Chinese blood but he has a Chinese soul. I salute you, brother.

You know he is native chinese when he does his math in Chinese @5min mark

Holy moly he speaks just like the old uncles and aunts

As a Chinese from Canton, I have to say the accent of Chinese from him is better than 90% Chinese 😂😂

His mother, Elizabeth, was the teacher of my English teacher at the Beijing School of Foreign Languages.  So I indirectly learned English from his mother😂

5:01 He reverted to chinese to do math in his head, THIS GUY IS 100% BONAFIDE CHINESE! 😂

His Chinese with strong Beijing accent, when he speaks like that , suddenly I feel his face change into a Chinese old man😂

As someone who learned English at 6, your English is impeccable.

This is the white boy who shocks restaurant staff by ordering in fluent mandarin

His mom was 108??? Holy cow what a family

The contrast of his RP British accent with that Northern Chinese accent is jarring.

I’ve lived in China for almost 20 years and have worked in a British University teaching Chinese students. I was deeply touched by this interview because I felt so much empathy and connection with the story of his father and mother and Michael himself. As someone who has developed the “heart of a Chinese” over many years it’s extremely difficult for return home to Europe and settle down. I struggle every single day being separated from China, it’s people, its kindness and its culture. China has changed me in every single way for the better and I am eternally indebted to this great civilisation ❤️‍🩹

Fluent multilingualism is one of the most impressive skills a person can have.

absolutely a local Northern Chinese uncle’s voice if you dont’s see the face

He does his mental calculation speaking in Chinese. There's no way you get more Chinese than that.