Cultural exchange a success

By Anita Stackhouse-Hite, The Porterville Recorder

Knocking over bowling pins, gutter-ball angst and the joy that comes from throwing a strike were all part of the experience for Chinese exchange students who visited Porterville Lanes and Sports Center during their two-week stay.

They buried their faces in their hands when they missed the pins and laughed when they hit them, exactly like their American counterparts.

Porterville Unified School District Superintendent John Snavely put on his bowling shoes and joined them.

“I used to be on a bowling team, and this is something I can do with them,” Snavely said, laughing with the students.

He bowled a spare on his first turn.

Luke Du make more strikes than gutter balls.

“It's fun to play here,” Du said. “We have bowling, but it is more fun here because we made new friends.”

All this and cooking, too

The 11 youngsters visiting from PUSD's sister school, Continued from Page 7A

Chengdu Meishi International School, participated in an activity-filled stay in Porterville that included everything from visiting a dairy farm to a three-day stay at the Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation.

They visited car dealerships in Bakersfield and had their pictures taken from behind the wheel of a BMW. Horseback riding, star gazing, sampling Mexican food, playing basketball and swimming were all part of their American adventure.

Learning to make tortillas was also part of the cultural experience they enjoyed.

Sky Xiang washed his hands and got busy rolling the dough that was made by Kay Barber.

“I want to make this for breakfast for my host family,” Xiang said, with a smile and flower on his hands.

His tortilla turned out perfectly round and browned just right, which made Barber proud.

Henry and Ivonne Espino and their children Aylin, 8, and Josh 13, hosted Sky.

“He eats everything and likes everything spicy,” Ivonne Espino said. “We had waffles one morning and he put hot sauce on them.”

The least favorite part of their visit was classroom learning, according to Assistant Superintendent Val Staley.

“Like all students they wanted to do the fun things,” Staley said. “When you're on summer vacation, sitting in a classroom is not your idea of fun.”

English, civics and art were among the classroom studies. English was the most important, according to their teacher Shelly Xiong.

“What their parents want most is for their English to improve,” Xiong said. “They work hard to improve their English.”

Each student was given an English assessment test to see where they stood with the language.

“It was a mixed bag,” Staley said. “Some did well, some spoke very little and didn't do very well. It's the same for our students.

The sister school

Chengdu Meishi International School came about in 2000, after founder and businesswoman Chen Qi saw a need and a way to improve learning by blending the best Chinese learning methods with the best Western education. She saw the exchange as a winning proposition for all concerned.

From those early beginnings evolved a cultural exchange and educational sisterhood between the two cities, Porterville and Chengdu. Last year, 15 PUSD students experienced education and adventure in China.

Departure

Their final Porterville event was a farewell dinner Friday at River Island Country Club.

Students departed from the PUSD administration office Saturday. Like students anywhere, some ran a little late. Xiao Chen, 16, was one of those, host parent Sue Wright said.

“We had to be at the district office at 12 and at 15 minutes to 12 he still hadn't packed,” Wright said, laughing. “I wanted to be a good host and get him there on time, but he chose that time to pull out a picture album. I had to laugh. He is 16 years old, so I expected him to be more responsible. We got there on time, but it was funny. Leaving was an emotional affair. At the district office, the girls cried. It was hard for some of them to leave.”

With all the fun, adventure, learning and cultural exchange one thing remained constant for the students: The joy of being with their host families.

Li Shuai said so upon arrival two weeks ago. Celine Sun repeated the sentiment two weeks later. It was all about the joys of new experiences with new friends.

“We had a lot of fun, but being with the host families was the best,” Sun said.

Contact Anita Stackhouse-Hite at 784-5000, Ext. 1043, or astackhouse-hite@portervillerecorder.com.

This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on August 1, 2006

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