Baltimore International Academy, Maryland, USA, invited by Hanban
Please watch this historic video recording the partnership between our school and Confucius Institute/Hanban: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/pEe5k0V1uDM/
The video was made when our school was two years old. It shows our students’ performance during the Chinese Bridge Competition organized by Confucius Institute of University of Maryland, College Park. The performers were only five years old back then. Eight years later, two of the students, Dontae Ryan II and Kolby Lewis, now 13 years old, participated in the trip, recommended by the same Confucius Institute.
The video, however, only marked a beginning for our students. From then on, our students have been participating in the Chinese Bridge Competition and demonstrating their high proficiency level. Over the past few years, Hanban has also been continuously supporting our school in various ways such as assigning Chinese guest teachers and donating books. With Hanban’s support, we have eventually succeeded in sending our students to China, making an unforgettable life experiences to them.
In reflection, the following four areas have contributed to the success of this trip.
Made Thorough Preparations Before the Trip
Since the invitation was confirmed by Hanban Test Center, with the leadership of Principal Mr. Enkiri and the school’s administration team, several discussions regarding the details of the trip took place to ensure the smoothness of the students’ first overseas trip. Eventually, the school decided to assign the Chinese Department Chair, Xiaoxia Zhang, and two teachers, Xiaoli Gong and Jingmei Shi, to chaperon 14 students on the trip. To relieve parents from the stress of applying for visas by themselves, Ms. Zhang drove to Chinese Embassy to help students and parents to apply for visas, while Ms. Gong devoted time to preparing documentations required of the trip such as camp and visa application forms.
Set Strict Discipline Delivered by the Conscientious Teachers
From the morning of March 23rd at BWI, the three teachers made
Managed the Students by Keeping Their Needs in Mind All the Time
Our students are in early adolescence and tend to rebel. To help them overcome jetlag and avoid problems, the teachers took turns waiting in hallways, even after midnight, to make sure that all students stayed in their rooms to sleep. As a result, during the eight-day trip, no student became sick, and all were in high spirits.
Took the Opportunity to Make the Camp Educational
The teachers used the trip experiences as teachable moments. Preparing the students to become ambassadors for a peaceful world, the teachers helped the students to understand the cultural sites the group visited and to acquire perspectives on
the culture.
A Welcoming and Inviting Beginning
The tone of the trip was set when the whole group was going through Chinese Customs. The officer looked at Ms Shi’s passport and asked her: “Are you a teacher? ” She responded: “Yes, I am a Chinese teacher.” He continued to ask her: “Are those your students?” After Ms Shi answered positively, the officer praised her: “You have done a good job getting the in line and waiting quietly.” Ms. Shi responded sincerely, “Thank you. I would like them to be friends to Chinese people.”.
After walking past the gate of China, the whole group was greeted by the warm-hearted tour guide, Mr. Zhang, Nan, who had been waiting there for us for a long time. Later, we arrived at Beijing Language and Culture College and were greeted again warmly by Ms. Zhang, Ai. She assisted us until midnight in assigning rooms to each student. Over the next few days, the dormitory management team, chefs, and teachers of culture lectures and language classes all made their best efforts to make our stay as meaningful and comfortable as possible.
Our tour guide Mr. Zhang Nan was very patient with our students. He explained the cultural sites in various ways to engage the students. When he found that our students were interested in Chinese-style shuttlecock, he bought a few for them to play with. His sense of responsibility and caring attitude touched our students’ hearts. They told him on the bus in Chinese,“We like you”.
When we visited Hanban Headquarters, Hanban presented a big welcome sign stating “Warmly Greet 2016 Spring Camp Test-takers from Baltimore International Academy, USA.” Later, we found pictures of Dontate Ryan II and Kolby Lewis as kindergarteners at five years old, and everyone was so excited!
An Educational Process
During the trip, we paid visits to cultural sites such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. Seeing the spectacular architectures has enriched our students’ knowledge and perspectives, and also inspired them to inquire deeper into the Chinese culture. Through visiting the Temple of Heaven, a site where the former emperors prayed to the God of Heaven for a good harvest, the students learned the meanings that various colors in Chinese culture represent: Red is for good luck, green is for fertile fields, while blue represents infinite sky, and yellow the power of emperors. However, after the visit, our IB students, who are used to asking why, were discussing what colors Chinese people do not favor. Ms. Shi wanted to guide students to inquire. She told them that the meaning every color associates with has to be put into context. In a different context, the same color may represent a different meaning. Chinese people actually favor all colors. A student then asked her: “But Ms Yang told us that Chinese wear white on funerals. “ Ms. Shi then said “It is true that Chinese people use white to show condolence and sorrow whilst Americans wear black on funerals.” However, it does not mean that Chinese people do not like white. Ms. Zhang and I both have white dresses because we adore the color. This told our students that not everything is black and white. They need to inquire deeper to get a whole picture of certain cultural perspectives.Our students also revisited the concept of being open-minded and used their language skills to communicate. At several sites, without asking, several Chinese tourists would hold our students’ hands or shoulders to take pictures with them. They would also comment on our students’ hairstyle and skin color. Because our students totally understood the comments in Chinese, they felt frustrated, disrespected, and upset. To guide students to walk out of the shadow, we talked with the students about this part of Chinese culture: Mostly these people adore you and therefore want to have pictures with you. Also, they are probably from smaller places of China and have never seen a lot of international citizens so they are too curious. Maybe you could tell them in Chinese: “if you want to have pictures with me, could you please ask me first?” Their parents also told them to be open-minded and not to be upset over this. Gradually, over other visits, our students started talking with tourists and were received as polite and cute. Wherever they went, they were very popular as people always wanted to take pictures with them. They even kicked a Chinese style shuttlecock with Beijing natives in a park, attracting a big crowd to watch. All of them felt like stars. In conclusion, during the trip, our students
were able to adapt to a new environment fairly quickly because the teachers guided them appropriately and because our school has cultivated to become ROCK students. Their actions show their respect for the Chinese ways of “love” and “communication”.
Another real engagement with Chinese culture happened during our visit to the Temple of Heaven. The students experienced Chinese people’s implicit way of expressing affections. By the Temple of Heaven, there was a couple dressed up taking photos. Ms. Gong told the students that they must have just got married and were taking nice photos to celebrate, but the students firmly told Ms. Gong that they were only modelling. Their evidence was that they witnessed the woman pushing the man’s hand away when he wanted to hold her hand. It proved that the lady did not love the gentleman. Gonglaoshi then encouraged them to ask about it in Chinese. So, Janiya asked the photographer in Chinese “Are they married?” The photographer held up his hand with a big OK to say, “Yes, they are.” This caught all students by surprise. Seeing their confusing looks, Ms. Shi made this a teachable moment. She told the students that this showed the different ways of expressing affections in Chinese and American culture. Chinese people think that love lies with the depth of their hearts but not on their lips. Therefore, they do not publically show their affection as a way to show respect for others. Therefore, Ms. Shi, Ms. Zhang, and Ms. Gong never tell you “I love you” with words, but you all feel that we love you with our lives! You will never see us show affections with our family in front of you, because we want to show our great respect for you. Meanwhile, we respect that your parents show affection more directly because we respect American culture.
The next culture class happened during a break of a crafts-making workshop. By accident, some students saw some women’s undergarments hanging over a balcony in a residential building next to the teaching building of the college. It took them by surprise again. Teachers explained to them that many Chinese families do not have dryers so they hang clothes under the sunlight for sterilization. They nodded their heads and showed understanding. Kolby Lewis even said he would buy dryers for Chinese people when he grows up. The experience taught our students to be culturally tolerant and understanding.The eight-day trip has also taught the students to be responsible. By American habit, our students won’t eat food that they do not like. Therefore, when they first tried the buffet and did not know what some authentic Chinese food tasted like, they ended up wasting a lot. The teachers told them that in Chinese culture, there should not be too much food left in plates because Chinese people do not appreciate wasting food. Later, they began to take less food at one time and tried to finish their plates. When Hanban informed us that we would visit the high school attached to Capital Normal University, we were a little worried. The typical Chinese way of learning and teaching could be a challenge to our students. What if they could not sit still for the period? Before the visit, we stressed with the students that their behavior would represent Baltimore International Academy and even the United States. During the visit, our students sat through a period of ancient Chinese language class and a calligraphy class and participated politely in the latter class when asked to. After lunch, our students played basketball with the high school’s students and won the game 7 to 2. Some also talked some Chinese students into playing soccer with them.
What made us really proud is our students’ ability to bargain in Chinese at Beijing Tianyi Market. Without any help from us, our students bargained with different businesses. Their Chinese proficiency and intelligence “shocked” many sellers, but pleased us.
By showing great respect for Chinese culture, our students gained a more objective and positive understanding of the culture. Before leaving China, they were joking that they did not want to come back to the USA. After coming back, they were repeatedly asking when they would get invited again. Our students and parents are grateful to Hanban for the invitation and on-going support. This unforgettable experience will enhance the bridge between China and America because it conveys the genuineness of the Chinese people and affords the students a more personal understanding of the culture. It is predictable that they would act as the ambassadors between the two cultures and contribute to building a more peaceful and better world.
Reflection
First of all, we deeply feel that chance favors the prepared mind. With Principal Mr. Enkiri and the administration’s dedication to our students’ education, we earned this opportunity and tested our students’ language proficiency in real life. The director of the spring camp in Beijing Language and Culture College told us that our management of the camp was the best to date! We were also the only group that did not need translation. We are proud of this recognition for our school, students, and teachers. Then, this trip has also reflected some areas for improvement. Some students could not manage their belongings well and therefore often lost things. The teachers often had to of help them look for their personal items. These students also became negative once they lost anything and showed the need to better solve problems. Some students tried to get out of their dorm to talk with their classmates in the early morning or even at midnight, and this it made them sleepy the next day and even caused them to be late for classes. To ensure that they could get enough sleep, the teachers took turns to stay up late to watch them in the hallway.Some students were wasteful but improved in this respect after the teachers talked with them. A few students threw tantrums when they were disciplined due to their behaviors. Last, because the students liked to play around, the teachers had to enforce discipline and to watch them carefully all the time.
Overall, a few flaws could not obscure the virtues. These problems are normal in an American society that emphasizes personal freedom. All of our students have improved themselves over the trip, especially Kolby Lewis, who helped his classmates and teachers a lot. He was always speaking Chinese and presented a very positive and sunny personality, making a deep impression on almost every one on the trip. Two students, Alton Foreman and Toni Anderson, represented all the students by giving speeches at the opening and closing ceremonies, respectively. Their fluent speeches were highly praisedby the host college. With all the efforts of our fourteen students and their teachers, we succeed on the trip!
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