In June, thirty five Lehi High School students studying Chinese had the opportunity to study abroad at Sichuan University and experience China, thanks to a grant the school received from Hanban (the colloquial name for the Chinese national office teaching Chinese as a foreign language).
“For me, personally, I loved the Great Wall of China and the area of Yangshuo where we helped farm and plant sweet potatoes,” recounted Emily Dodge, a graduating senior from Lehi.
The students had Chinese classes for 3 hours every morning for 8 days, which according to Emily, helped a lot with learning the language. “Just being in another country with a different culture and so many different things, we learned about ourselves, others, and just a little bit of the world in general,” said Dodge. The Lehi High Chinese students spent three weeks in China.
There were 3 Chinese teachers, one parent chaperone who spoke a little Chinese, and 39 students; 4 from other schools and 35 from Lehi High School. There was some fundraising done at the Chinese New Year festival the high school arranged, but for the most part, students had to do their own fundraising and work to earn the rest of the money. What an amazing opportunity to go out and experience a different culture on the other side of the world. The students had an amazing time and enjoyed the beauty, language, culture, and overall experience of being in China.
