Public

Sue, Liu Xiaohui, from the Guangxi University of Technology in Liuzhou, China, sings such a truly beautiful song for our students at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, California, U.S.A. through our live-web conference. Her voice is so lovely and it was such a joy to hear.

Cara, a student at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, California, U.S.A. wrote about her experience with the live-video conference with students in the Guangxi Polytechnic University in Liuzhou, China.

"Sitting in class while listening to a classroom full of people in a different country has to be one of the most empowering things I've been through.  Being able to communicate and being able to see the differences and similarities in a school in California, U.S., and a school in Liuzhou, China, is amazing. I enjoyed being able to see just how small the world is, and how big we think the world is.  Talking to several different countries has broadened my horizons and has opened my mind to show me other world cultures.  This program can help people of different backgrounds interact and could close the narrow-minded gap that some people live in."

Fa-Qiang and Nick, from Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, California, both wrote to students at the Guangxi University of Technology in Liuzhou City in Guangxi, China.  I was surprised Fa-Qiang asked to write to a student in China since he is Chinese himself and this is what he shared in his final report.

Fa-Qiang:  "In this epal project we get to talk to people from all over the world and I chose to talk to someone from China.  Why?  Because I am also Chinese but I don't really know much about it so I would like to learn more about my culture.  I learned a lot of things through my epals."  He actually wrote to two students, Mengtian and Guanjing.  In his final report he shared how much he enjoyed learning about all the stories behind Chinese traditions and holidays.  This gave him more meaning to his background.  His final sentences: "I really enjoyed talking to them and getting to know the Chinese world more. They are also great people to talk with and I enjoyed this assignment very much."

Both Stephanie and Kayla, students at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, California, had epals at the Guangxi University of Technology in Liuzhou City in China.  They both wrote glowing reports sharing how valuable they felt this experience was.  Their reports were very long with lots of details of everything they learned.  Below are some comments they made in their essays.

From Stephanie:  "After being involved in the e-pal exchange I have become very interested in China.  My epal, Huang Jing Hong, also known as Helen, is a 20 year old female from Liuzhou City, Guangxi........ This process taught me that the youth of the nation is just like ours."  She shares all the ways they are similar with sports, school activities, an love for pets. She also shares about the exciting new foods she discovered.  Her final comments were:  " China is a very beautiful place and a very rich culture full of color and life.  I learned a lot through my epal experience and Helen and I will probably keep in touch through epals.com even after the assignments are over.  I am very happy I got this opportunity to make a friend and learn about a very interesting country.

Carlos was connected through an epal project with Linda, a sophomore at Guangxi University of Technology in Liuzhou city, Guangxi, China.  He wrote a detailed report sharing all the things he learned about the Chinese culture and traditions.  He described his epal as a "free spirited, fun loving person" who enjoys many things just like the rest of us in America.  He shared what he learned about Chinese holidays and even thought their lunar calendar made more sense than our solar calendar. His final summary was:

"From my experience with my e-pal I was able to learn quite a bit.  I was, for some reason, really surprised when I learned that they live pretty much the same lifestyle as we do over here, with just a few differences of course.  They all enjoy going out and having a good time, bike riding, playing sports, going home to visit their families for the holidays.  We live a lifestyle similar to theirs and it's neat considering we're halfway around the world from each other. My personal experience has been great. Through this, I am now more curious in wanting to visit China.  It seems like somewhere I would like to go and check out.  I would say that I am more enriched from learning from my e-pal.  I'm glad I got the chance to do this."

"I was very eager and excited to get to know Xu Wei who lives in China.  He is 21 years old and attends Guangxi University of Technology in Liuzhou City, in Guangxi, China. He chose English as his major because English is a critical part in Chinese schooling.  We both agree that learning a foreign language is imperative to our Global Connections.  Our world is growing into one big Global Community and it is important to be able to communicate with other countries you want to be allied with."

"I feel that I have gained a lot of wisdom from this experience.  It really broadened my world views and made me more interested in reaching outside my fences. I am really struck by the contrast between lives, and yet how similar we may be.  It was comforting to know that someone so far away can share the same views and have my same stresses.  It is a very uplifting and unifying feeling."