Gig Harbor High Schools China Exchange Program

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Gig Harbor High Schools China Exchange Program

• Building Strong Student-to-Student Connections

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Gig Harbor High SchoolsSister School in
Beijing Tsinghua High School
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Location of Our Sister School
Beijing
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Key Features of the Exchange

• Two-way annual exchange
• Financial Responsibility
• Focus on campus life
• Explore culture on campus
• Visit historic and cultural sites
• Home stays
• Careful selection of participants
• Pre-trip study and preparation
• Share knowledge after return

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Two-way Annual Exchange
share knowledge

• We go to China for two weeks in the Spring. Each
  American student is matched with a Chinese
  partner.
• Chinese partners come to U.S. for two weeks the
  following Winter. They stay with their American
  partners from previous Spring.

In the Spring, we send our students to sister
school.
The following Winter, sister school sends their
students to us.
study and preparation
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Financial Responsibility

• Each family is responsible for
• Round trip airfare
• Visa application fee
• Passport application fee
• Spending money (limit to approx. 300)

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Focus on Campus Life

• Accompany Chinese partners at school
• Make presentations in English classes and chat
  with students

After learning and going to school with the
kids, I will never ever again complain of
schoolwork.
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Explore Culture on Campus

• Attend special classes and performances
• See unique characteristics of Chinese schools

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Visit Historic and Cultural Sites

• Overnight train and two days in Shanghai at the
  end of the trip.
• Visits to local historical and cultural sites
  organized by Tsinghua.
• Sightseeing with home stay families.

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Home Stays

• Experience family life
• Bond with partners
• Practice language skills

While on my home stay I really connected with
Qin Waru, my Chinese partner. We talked about
many things... When we went shopping it felt like
two friends just going shopping on the weekend.
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Careful Selection of Participants

• Students selected based on attitude, team spirit,
  academic achievement, and ability to act as
  ambassador for school and community.
• Selection process includes questionnaire,
  on-demand essay, and oral interview.

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Pre-trip Study and Preparation

• Series of evening workshops for teachers and
  students prior to departure with required reading
  on Chinese modern history, culture, and Beijing.
• Each student develops a presentation on one
  aspect of life in the U.S. to give in China.
• Parent/student/teacher meetings to cover nuts and
  bolts of trip.

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Share Knowledge after Return

• After returning from their trip, students give
  presentations on different aspects of their trip
  to social studies and history classes.
• Students write personal statements about their
  experience.
• Students give their presentations to local
  community organizations.

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Benefits to Students

• Increase cultural awareness
• Strengthen language skills
• Forge lasting friendships
• Focus academic and career goals
• Teamwork
• Share life in the U.S. with Chinese partners

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Increase Cultural Awareness
To actually meet and live with a person in the
same situation as me but in China taught me more
than anything else. They are not just millions of
Chinese people anymore they are human beings
just like in America. Of course they go to school
for 15 hours a day, play competitive ping pong
rather than baseball, and eat chicken feet, but
they are still just regular teenagers. They dont
always do their homework or listen in class or
agree with everything they are told. I was
expecting to learn from all the differences, but
now that I have experienced it, what struck me
the most was our similarities.
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Strengthen Language Skills
This was a great experience for me and it turned
my Chinese class around. Prior to it, I was not
understanding the Chinese language well. I was
really struggling Afterward, the class seemed to
click. Page Ollice, Gig Harbor High School, 2007
While in China and trying to speak Chinese I
discovered the importance of tones. Stephanie
Brereton, Gig Harbor High School, 2007
Being surrounded by a fast-talking Chinese
population was extremely confusing for the non
Chinese-speaking students, and even many of us
Chinese language students were left baffled for
the first few moments of our arrival. However, as
we adjusted to the speed of conversations, small
words and phrases began standing out. Travis
Lim, Gig Harbor High School, 2007
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Forge Lasting Friendships
What Stan taught me and what the country itself
made me realize cannot be learned in any textbook
or taught by any teacher but only learned through
the great experience I was so blessed to be a
part of. Nathanial Youngchild, Peninsula High
School, 2007
Wang Yanwen and I overcame a language barrier
and became fast friends. This friendship is one
that will last a lifetime. Drew Jorgenson, Gig
Harbor High School, 2006
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Focus Academic and Career Goals
Two years later, as a student learning Chinese
and studying the implications of Asias growth to
global economics, politics, and the environment,
I consider my trip to China as the source of my
interest in this region As my interest in China
increased, it began to affect my plans in life. I
am now entering the Edmund A. Walsh School of
Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with
plans to continue studying Chinese until I reach
a level of proficiency. David Herron, Gig Harbor
High School, 2005
This trip completely changed my outlook toward
my future. In college, I am planning to
participate in study abroad programs so I can
learn more about the rest of the world. Aubrey
Steingraber, Gig Harbor High School, 2006
By meeting kids from China I feel more
connected. I now realize I want to find a career
where I am able to meet people from all over the
world. Brynn Smith, Gig Harbor High School, 2006
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Teamwork
Because we all spent so much time together we
all learned about each other and became a big
family.
For as long as I can remember, I always
preferred to do things independently However,
after having such a great time with my peers in
China, I began to appreciate how much more you
can learn from others. Mark Junge, Gig Harbor
High School, 2006
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Share Life in the U.S. with Chinese Partners
My mom and dad loved having Yanchen live with us
for two weeks. She is really funny. They also
learned a lot about Chinese culture from her stay
here. Everyone was upset when she returned home.
Aubrey Steingraber, Gig Harbor High School, 2006
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Benefits to School and Community

• School-wide awareness of global community
• Learn from American participants and their
  Chinese partners
• Strengthen community and state ties to China