Source: Yiwu sourcing agent Author: Helan Date: 2011-04-10
When you were 10 year old,would you imagine sitting in class with a group of peers in a different country, living in a foreign family, or shopping in an overseas market? Would you be interested in the foreign culture, dietary habits and tourist attractions? All of these appeal to teenagers.
Such students arrived at Chouzhou Middle School March 29th. Students whose ages ranged from 12-15 came from Melbourne, Australia. They were full of enthusiasm and curiosity. These kids experienced studies and life very different to that in their own country.
Australian Kids were not Shy with Strangers At noon March 30th, friendly chatter could be heard coming from a meeting room on the second floor in the Administration Building of the school. Twelve foreign students were sitting around the table, talking and laughing with ease. There was no shyness or concern on their innocent faces.
"We are the sister-school of Ashwood College in Melbourne, Australia.
Each year both schools will organize groups of students to experience a cultural exchange,"said Mr.Chunquan (Peter) He,a teacher in Yiwu.
"On this trip we have 7 boys and 5 girls. All of them are students of Ashwood College, "informed Mrs. Hong Davies, the Chinese teacher in Ashwood College. She added that these
kids were no strangers to China because Chinese lessons are a compulsory component of the curriculum at their school. However,she stated that this was their first time to China. She felt that the cultural differences between the two countries gave them much to learn.
Experiencing the Chinese Traditional Culture To help Australian students grasp the essence of Chinese traditional culture, teachers on the Chouzhou Middle School prepared a series of tailored lessons.
Our English teacher Miss Luping (Emma) Yu, one of the teachers responsible for these lessons, selected the most representative culture elements to share with them. Her commentary was illustrated by a professional-looking PowerPoint presentation,which attracted the students' interest immediately.
"Do you know Fuwa, Chinese Zodiac, Chinese Paper-cut, Chinese Musical Instruments and Chinese Opera?"
she asked the students. Throughout the class, everyone spoke up enthusiastically.
Some answered Emma's questions, while others posed their own questions.
"Emma, why do the Chinese people choose these 12 animals for the Zodiac?" enquired Simon, a lively student wearing a baseball cap. A girl with a ponytail asked, 'Emma, in Chinese Opera, why are the faces so colorful?" Another girl asked, "Emma, the Chinese Paper-cut is beautiful, will you do it?" Many questions followed.
When Teacher Yu showed everyone a skip rope, the kids cheered because they were eager to have a go themselves.
To be "Little Calligraphers" The following class was Calligraphy, offered by Ms. Jing Kang. When the kids saw the Xuan paper, ink, brushes and inkstone, they looked up in excitement. A boy picked up a brush, touched the bristles and was fascinated by how it felt. "So today we are going to write with this brush, instead of a pen?" he asked. Ms. Kang then began her class,"The writing tools in front of you are called 'the Four Treasures of Study ' in China. Now we are using them to write."The room fell silent as the students concentrated carefully on their work.
With Ms. Kang's patient guidance, these Australian students got down to writing like "little calligraphers". Although the characters they wrote were slanted, they practiced earnestly. Even the Ashwood College teacher,Steven,gave it a go.
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