4:3 Paradoxical

When and where did I find this word?
I found this word in a short passage assessing student reading comprehension on a PSAT review website.  The passage is about a young Chinese girl that doesn't feel at home in the United States but also in
China.  The word was in the following passage:
     When I got to college, I decided to learn more about
          "where I came from" by taking classes in Asian
     History.  I even studied Mandarin Chinese.  This had
          the paradoxical effect of making me question
     my Chinese-ness.  Other student, and even the
          teaches, expected me to sprout perfectly
     accented English.

What does this word mean?
According to http://www.wordnetweb.princeton.edu/, the definition of paradoxical is:  seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true.  The example given:  "it is paradoxical that standing is more tiring than walking."

What is my familiarity with this word?
I have heard this word many times and from the context clues in the reading passage, I surmised that the definition included contradictory ideas.

Do I want to know this word and why?
Paradoxical is a word I do want to know.  It is a word that efficiently describes a seemingly complex idea.  The concept of two or more contradictory ideas that both may be true is a difficult concept to teach to students.
I chose this word because even though I somewhat knew what it meant I didn't have the right vocabulary to explain it when a student asked me what the definition was.  The best I could do was give him an example of what I thought the word meant. It is important to use the correct vocabulary when teaching vocabulary.

Do I want others to know this word?
It is important for educators of literacy, reading, English, or Social Studies to know what this word means.  It is also a good word for writers to know.  Good writers use as few words as possible to convey an idea.  This one word conveys a lengthy idea and is therefore useful in writing.