UDNSLIY July 11, 2017
Alexandra Jagielski
The UDNSLI-Y team organized another meet up with a local Xiamen high school. This school specializes in science and technology and had equally impressive facilities and students as the Xiamen Foreign Language School (XMFLS) we visited last week. Although my fellow NSLI-Y students and I did not have enough time to take an in depth campus tour, I could tell it was a very impressive campus. The scenery and quality of the facilities were great. As we walked to the indoor gym area, we noticed some students playing basketball on their courts and enjoying their day like any other kid. However, these students are not just regular students. They are attending a prestigious private boarding school that is connected with Xiamen University.
During out time at the school, UDNSLI-Y students and the Chinese students played several games and participated in team building activities. One of the games requested each student to learn, or at least hear every person’s name. Other games pushed us to use our Mandarin skills so we could communicate with one another for the shared goal of being victorious. Once again, local Chinese students shocked me with their English speaking skills. After speaking with a couple of students I learned they had been studying English since elementary school. It amazes me how well they are able to understand and speak English. They put in a lot of effort into learning English and becoming global citizens, which is very admirable.
It is so great that UDNSLI-Y students had the chance to interact with students in China and learn a little bit about their daily life, and their background. It pushes every student to be open-minded and strive to understand other cultures.
