Published on 31 August 2010
By Greg Hugh, Staff Writer
The long flight originating in Shanghai to Minneapolis-St. Paul didn’t dampen the spirits of nine students along with a Vice Principal and two teachers from Loudi No. 1 Middle School as they were enthusiastically greeted at the airport by a welcoming committee lead by their host families. By Greg Hugh, Staff WriterThe long flight originating in Shanghai to Minneapolis-St. Paul didn’t dampen the spirits of nine students along with a Vice Principal and two teachers from Loudi No. 1 Middle School as they were enthusiastically greeted at the airport by a welcoming committee lead by their host families.
The group was here to attend a Summer Cultural Camp in Minnesota so that they could experience a bit of American culture and learn more about how America works, plays, learns and basically lives.
Their week here was filled with tours of the University of Minnesota, shopping at the Mall of America, a visit to St. Cloud State University and a stop at the Outlet Mall in Albertville. The students also toured Eden Prairie High School which has established a sister school relationship with their school. They also attended classes on broadcast and other media that were held by Asia Media Access (AMA) an organization that had just had a group of students that returned from a visit to China. AMA also spent a day with the Loudi students on Lake Calhoun with swimming, canoeing plus a BBQ lunch.
Another day was spent at the Hospitality Center for Chinese which is an outreach organization that primarily serves students from China attending the University of Minnesota. Part of the day was devoted to an English Seminar and a discussion on history and faith of America. The students also had a chance to visit downtown Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Group from Loudi at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport
There were no activities scheduled for the weekend so that they could spend it with their host families and experience exactly what an American family does on a weekend.
A farewell dinner and celebration was held on Sunday at Grand City Buffet in St. Louis Park, MN, which was also attended by several students and teachers that had just returned from a visit to China including a visit to Loudi. Certificates of Achievement were presented to the students by Richard He, President of China Insight and Janet Pladson, Ed.D., Director of Teaching and Learning for Eden Prairie School District. Certificates of Appreciation and a token gift from the students were presented to the host families.
The students from Loudi then continued their visit of the U.S. by flying east where they visited Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. before they returned to China.
Editor’s Note: See additional articles written by some of the AMA students who interviewed the visiting Chinese students.
Category: High School
