Learning beyond borders

Thirteen Chinese language students recently traveled to Taiwan for a 12-day educational sightseeing and school exchange program. Splitting their time between Taipei and Yilan in eastern Taiwan, our students gained insights into the history, traditions, architecture and culture of Taiwan while improving their Chinese language skills. Among other activities, students had a chance to pick scallions at a local scallion farm and learned how to make scallion pancakes. They visited 十份 to make a wish and set off sky lanterns, and they engaged in several language-based scavenger hunts in Taiwan’s night markets and neighborhoods. Students had the unique opportunity to stay with local families for part of the trip and attend school at the Shoushan High School 壽山高中 with their host siblings. It was a wonderful opportunity to put our classroom lessons to use! 

A second group of students visited Panama, where they immersed themselves in country’s history from past to present. Highlights included day hikes exploring the rainforest and the plethora of species that inhabit them, snorkeling in a Caribbean reef with biologists working to revive it, and learning about the economic importance of the Panama Canal. Students were wide open to new experiences at every turn, and they traveled with wonder and open hearts.