Students arrived at school today via car/bus/subway along with their host siblings, who will be taking them to and from school for the first week. The day started off with a lot of chatter about host families: "Does your host family do this?" "My host sister gave me her room!" "What did your family make you for breakfast?" "Do you have any relatives living with your family?" "What does your apartment look like?" and so on. Students were both anxious and excited about their experiences with authentic Chinese living, and were eager to compare their own experiences with those of other students.
By moving in with the host families, students stepped out of their comfort zone, most of them for the first time since we arrived last Saturday. After three days of spending almost all their time inside the gates of the Yucai School, living amongst fellow Americans, it was certainly a culture shock to leave the school and live with Chinese families.
For some students, the biggest challenge was communication --the Chinese host siblings varied in the amount of English they spoke. Some spoke very little, some spoke a lot. Some students had never faced a language barrier before, so they had to figure out a system that worked for both them and their host families. For some students, the biggest challenge was the difference in living standards between China and the US. The homes are obviously different, as well as the surrounding areas, and this was the first time most students were able to experience Chinese living standards. There were also some things that students just weren't used to such as the food, the customs, and the regular routines of the host family. Both the staff and students knew there would be a bit of culture shock going in to a society so different from what the students are used to, but I think the students are dealing with it well!
If any questions or issues came up regarding the host family, students brought them up to myself or another program staff member. We did our best to deal with them, whether that meant reassuring the student, talking with the host siblings, or calling the host parents.
Beyond the chatter about host families, students attended classes as usual in the morning. After lunch, students attended elective culture classes. The four choices were Chinese dance, Beijing opera mask making, paper-cutting, and Chinese yo-yo. Most classes brought in outside experts to teach the students.
In Chinese dance class, students had the opportunity to learn a few different styles of ethnic dance, from minorities in places like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. They also had the opportunity to try on traditional costumes and use props!
By moving in with the host families, students stepped out of their comfort zone, most of them for the first time since we arrived last Saturday. After three days of spending almost all their time inside the gates of the Yucai School, living amongst fellow Americans, it was certainly a culture shock to leave the school and live with Chinese families.
For some students, the biggest challenge was communication --the Chinese host siblings varied in the amount of English they spoke. Some spoke very little, some spoke a lot. Some students had never faced a language barrier before, so they had to figure out a system that worked for both them and their host families. For some students, the biggest challenge was the difference in living standards between China and the US. The homes are obviously different, as well as the surrounding areas, and this was the first time most students were able to experience Chinese living standards. There were also some things that students just weren't used to such as the food, the customs, and the regular routines of the host family. Both the staff and students knew there would be a bit of culture shock going in to a society so different from what the students are used to, but I think the students are dealing with it well!
If any questions or issues came up regarding the host family, students brought them up to myself or another program staff member. We did our best to deal with them, whether that meant reassuring the student, talking with the host siblings, or calling the host parents.
Beyond the chatter about host families, students attended classes as usual in the morning. After lunch, students attended elective culture classes. The four choices were Chinese dance, Beijing opera mask making, paper-cutting, and Chinese yo-yo. Most classes brought in outside experts to teach the students.
In Chinese dance class, students had the opportunity to learn a few different styles of ethnic dance, from minorities in places like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. They also had the opportunity to try on traditional costumes and use props!
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In the Beijing opera mask making class, students painted masks to look like characters from traditional Beijing opera.
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Students in the paper-cutting class each made a few intricate and very neat-looking paper cutouts.
Finally, students in the Chinese yo-yo class had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to use it. We all agreed that the use of the Chinese yo-yo in the acrobatics show two nights ago made it look way easier than it really was (in the acrobatics show, they would toss the yo-yo in the air, do flips, stand on each others' shoulders, and always manage to catch it!).
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After the culture class, students were met by their host siblings and taken home to their host families to spend the rest of the day!
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