VALPARAISO | When Valparaiso University graduate student Derik Bron travels this summer, he plans on saying "ni hao" quite a bit.

Bron will be a translator, from Mandarin Chinese into English, for the Beijing Olympics in China, and he will be saying much more than just "hello," or "ni hao."

"I'll be doing mostly written translation for the updates on what's happening so they can make it available to the news companies," said Bron.

Bron, who is from Sedro-Woolley, Wash., is a student in the Master of Arts in Chinese studies program at VU. He became interested in studying the Chinese language after his family spent a year in Lijaing, China, when he was a sophomore in high school.

"My parents taught English, and that was my introduction to China," said the student who also spent seven weeks studying in Hangzhou as part of the VU program. He says that it was his tutor's idea for him to be a translator for the Olympics.

"As part of our curriculum, we have a tutor. Mine, Yan Yang, is from Tsingtao, China, a city in the northeast part of China that's on the water. That's where the Olympics is having the sailing regatta portion of the competition," Bron said.

So Bron says in January he applied to become a translator, at the behest of Yang who said it would be a "once in a lifetime experience." After a series of interviews, Bron was accepted as a volunteer translator.

"I'm looking forward to the international atmosphere that will be in the language center, and I'm really excited about seeing a different part of China I've never seen before," said Bron of the vast country.

Bron will be at the Olympics from July 14 through Aug. 24. He says he plans to take the seven-hour train trip to Beijing, a city he has visited with his family in the past, to see the buildings constructed just for the Olympics.

But sightseeing, as appealing as it is, is not Bron's main objective in giving up a large part of his summer.

"I know I could be working and earning money, but I'm happy to help people out and volunteer and meet new people," says Bron, who will be missing out on earning wages for next year's tuition and fees.