After our whole group was reunited for the day we all went into a classroom and interacted with some high school students. Theses students were in the process of learning English and all hoped to go to college in America.
When we walked in we were given a scavenger hunt. There were 4 individual names we each got given we were supposed to find them and start up a conversation. It was very hard to find them for me personally, but I found that the students were very helpful in making the scavenger hunt as easy and comfortable as it could be for me. I found out during this scavenger hunt mainly was their Chinese name versus their English and their dislikes and likes about the Chinese culture. I found that everyone loved the Chinese food. Them loving the Chinese food was very surprising to me. I enjoyed the Chinese food but did not love it. Goes to show food is all about comfort and what one grows up with.
I also found it surprising that their school days are from 7:30 in the morning until 10:00 at night. They put Americans to shame, when they told me that I definitely felt like I should study more. This shows they work hard for what they receive and are so accustomed to this lifestyle they have no complaints. I can’t even imagine how this would go down in America.
Another side note these students live at their high school. We talked to our host student, Cathy, and she said that she only goes home on Sundays. She also stated how she never really misses home. Also another shocking fact is that the walls have lead in them to block cell phone signals.
After interacting with some students individually, we got to stand up in front of their entire high school. The entirety of their high school is around 4,000 people. This was a little nerve wracking. We were actually supposed to speak and introduce ourselves individually but luckily that didn’t happen. The reason why the students were outside all at once was to state the “pledge of allegiance” in our eyes. They rose up a flag and everything. When are class was looking down on all the students from the stairs, all of them were looking back at us full of smiles and excited to see Americans. Like Rob said, we would be like superstars in China. These 4,000 people were amazingly lines up in perfectly straight lines as well. Which fascinated me. I remember in middle school my teachers would make us walk in pairs down the hall, we couldn’t even follow that. It goes to show once again how strict and rule bound the Chinese lifestyle is.
Later that day we went to a college university in China. Now these students were learning Chinese. Very different from the high school. The students were from all over the world, which I found very interesting. It didn’t seem as though there was a minority. In my opinion the college wasn’t very entertaining, but I see why we went there. We went to compare the two schools, but in all honesty I just felt like I was being pitched to come to their college. However, in the class we sat in on, if I stayed I would know so much Chinese, her teaching style was brilliant.
We had dinner at the university and then headed back with our host families for our last night with them. This night was by far more fun and exciting than the first night. We stayed up for a while when we returned and had no problem talking with them this time. Elise and I taught them how to play GO FISH and they taught us how to play one of their Chinese card games. It was a nice bonding experience to teach them something and then they give something back to us in return.
After cards we swapped our house gifts. Before Elise and I went on the trip we each bought the family something. I got them Champlain chocolates, stamps from all over America, and a Boston Red Sox hat. Elise gave them chocolates and something else I can’t quite remember. In return they gave us each a fancy little decorative tea set. Which we both really wanted and loved. It was red also to signify “luckiness” Gift swapping went well they seemed to enjoy/ be thankful for our gifts. The father loved the Boston Red Sox hat, which was my goal! All in all the host families was a great cultural experience.
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