Students at Cannon School heard Chinese songs, watched a dance and learned about the country’s culture during an assembly on Wednesday.
The performances were given by students from China, and the show was one of the final events during their two-week cultural exchange.
The ninth group of students from Tianli International School, a Chinese boarding school in Luzhou, visited Cannon School this month through a sister-school partnership that has existed since 2004.
The 17 students and two teachers from Tianli arrived on Jan. 13, and they will leave Saturday.
During the two-week visit, they attended classes at Cannon, visited area museums, attended athletic events and even shopped at Concord Mills. They also spent time with their Cannon host families, whom they lived with during the visit.
“It opens the eyes and minds of our students and the entire community,” said Mark Kmidowski, a media specialist at Cannon who coordinates the visit.
He added that the families of students in different grade levels are able to meet and interact at events for all of the host families, and Cannon students rise to the occasion to make the Chinese students comfortable.
Kmidowski said that the Chinese students inspire the people at Cannon by doing things like performing in front of American students and speaking to them in their second language.
“(Cannon students) see the value of learning a second language or third language,” Kmidowski said.
Nikolas Stylianou, a sophomore at Cannon, said he had a chance to practice speaking Mandarin and Cantonese, experience Chinese culture and show what American culture is like while his family hosted Yang Xu, a student from Tianli whose American nickname is “Sunny.”
During the visit, they went to a pottery place, attended a Chinese party, and Sunny cooked Chinese food for his host family.
Stylianou said the biggest lesson he gained from the visit was to have an open mind and try new things.
The students and teachers from Tianli also talked about the things they noticed that were similar and different between the countries.
Guanyuan He, whose American nickname is “Herman,” is an English teacher and director of foreign offices at Tianli. He also lived with a Cannon host family, and this was his first time in the U.S.
“I feel it is a great visit, experiencing the school life and the family life,” Herman said.
He said that those from Tianli were able to see what life in America is really like because they lived with a host family and had more chances to experience the culture.
Junhao Dai, a student at Tianli whose American nickname is “Luke,” agreed.
As he talked about the differences between the U.S. and China, he said one thing he noticed was that American students have more freedom.
“Their lifestyle is really relaxed,” Luke said. “They really enjoy their life.”
He said he also noticed that the Chinese diet has more vegetables in it than most Americans’ meals, and that Americans eat more often.
“Chinese people never have snacks,” Luke said. “We have three meals a day.”
Herman said he was surprised by the pharmacies here.
“At home, the pharmacy is the place to buy medicines,” Herman said. “(Here), you can almost buy everything you need.”
He also said he felt like American students thought of China the way it was 30 or 40 years ago.
“It has changed a lot,” Herman said.
He suggested that the Cannon students come for a visit to learn about the culture. Students from Cannon visited Tianli in 2007, and staff members from the school said they hope to travel there again this summer.
“We’ll be ready to welcome Cannon School students so they can experience Chinese culture,” Herman said.
Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152
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