By Grace Rybak, Breck School Senior

Group photo of Breck Student & Parent Group with their hosts at Harbin No. 1 High School

Chinese high schools differ from American high schools in many ways, primarily in structure. A Chinese school day is much longer than an American school day. While American students usually attend school for about seven hours each weekday, Chinese students spend much more time in school. For example, at Harbin Number One High School, students begin school at 7:00 a.m., and remain until 8:20 p.m. The seniors, preparing for their final examinations, stay later, even until 10:00 at night.

By Katie Ross, Breck School

Bicycles, pollution, and rice paddies - those three elements defined my memory of China prior to this trip. My parents and I went to Hong Kong in 1997 and Mainland China in 2000, so while I didn’t remember much about the country, my perspective was shaped by what I took in as a 5- and 8-year old. I remembered streets where bikes far outnumbered cars and where entire families piled onto a small, one-gear bike. I remembered the grey haze that seemed ever present in the cities. And I remembered lush, green rice paddies of the Guilin countryside farmed by a single farmer maneuvering a steel plow behind a water buffalo. That is how I remembered China, but now after 10 years, another trip, and immense changes in China, I have a new impression of China.