重庆巴蜀中学— —美国媒体报道我校学生在美国过暑假

食物是qin yupei和wei meilingzi指出的中国重庆和美国康科德之间最大的区别。在他们重庆的家里，他们的一日三餐都经常是热和辣的食物，而这里一切的都似乎是甜和冷的食物。

“美国人民很喜欢甜食。”wei meilingzi谈到就如昨天她刚在学校食堂吃了一份配有果汁和苹果酱的大份午餐。

（在“体验美国”夏令营将近尾声的时候，两位学生和我们讨论了中美食物的区别）

30名12-16岁年龄不等的重庆学生于7月11日抵达，分散住在位于康科德的美国家庭里，相处十分融洽。现在他们即将离开这里，飞往加利福尼亚州游玩后再返回中国。在这一批中国学生离开后，另外一组中国学生也已整装待发准备来到Bishop Brady。

体验美国夏令营目的就是通过文化交流，在中美之间建立起互相理解的新关系。当Bishop Brady 的老师Tee Treybig 听说此事，她就知道这对于中国学生以及Bishop Brady 的美国学生将是一次伟大的体验。在美国新罕布什尔州，中国的学生们将体验到与位于中国西南人口约三千万的重庆非常不一样的气候和文化。

每天前三小时的学术课程由Sarah Miller负责。另一名Bishop  Brady 的老师负责教授第二语言—英语。学生们下午配合课程参加各种活动。例如，经过课堂上对美国历史和政府的学习，学生会去到州议会会见州长Maggie Hassan.。另一天，学生们学习了美国的体育游戏，下午就安排Fisher Cats 的游戏。

尽管只有约2周的住家学习时间，Treybig和其他老师都说，他们已经看到了中国学生的巨大改变。例如：初来乍到的时候，中国学生们大多数只会一些最基本的英文，但现在能听懂的，能讲出来英文明显更多了。而美国学生居然也学会了一些简单的中文。

作为重庆市巴蜀中学校的英语老师shuai qiang的谈到，“他们（学生们）比以前更勇敢自信了！”

中国学生说，除了食物，他们还发现了其他方面的差异。比如说，美国的空气更清新，天气凉爽而干燥。即使是在像上周一样阳光强烈的天气里，也不会觉得太热。一些学生参加了游泳派对，另一些学生的美国家庭在周末的时候去了海滩或湖边游泳玩耍。而在中国，学生们似乎并不经常去参加这类活动。

“我喜欢新汉普郡，因为天气很好，尤其喜欢这里的天空，湛蓝湛蓝的。”一名叫John Ye的重庆学生说。

另一位名wei xin的学生说，她亲眼目睹最有意思的事情就是有野生动物的存在！她居住期间，她在美国家庭的后院发现了三只野生火鸡，这周末，当她从海滩回家的路上，还意外看到一只可爱小鹿在旁边徘徊。而这些，都是她在中国重庆不会看到的。

随着越来越理解中美之间的差异，Treybig也希望学生们会来关注中美之间的相似之处。一个就是中美学生们都爱购物。昨天的美国经济商业课程之后，学生们一起去了Steeplegate Mall，每个人都很开心，用零花钱买了许多喜欢的东西。部分学生直奔苹果手机柜台，其他人去买运动鞋。女孩子们在American Eagle Outfitters购物，男生们拎着从Abercrombie & Fitch买来的战利品。

“美国的衣服和鞋子确实比中国便宜。”巴蜀中学的yi shouchun（英文名Justbin）谈到。每个学生在美国学校的英语课上都有英文名字。他选择Justbin这个名字是因为他的很多朋友都是偶像明星Justin Bieber的粉丝，这也是中国学生和美国同龄人的另一个共同点。

经过这段时间，中美学生彼此加深了理解，很多美国孩子还一时不能接受自己的新朋友很快就要离开这里，动身回国的事实。

Lindsey Beahm（即将迎来大二生活的布雷迪学生，家里接待了重庆的中学生）说到，“这是段非常意义的时间！我多么希望还能有更多的时间让我们彼此更加亲近。”

Treybig希望这些学生能够在美国收获到的就是通过交流，从而建立起亲密的友情，拉近彼此的距离。她说，“我告诉我的孩子们，维护世界和平就是要去跟全世界的人交朋友。”

参观State House 前合影

参观当地消防局

和美国学生一起，制作“可乐火箭”

教美国孩子毛笔字

手工课

附：美国当地报道原文

Bishop Brady hosts Chinese students for two-week camp

Lauren Oswsowitz, 17, reaches across the table for a map of Concord during the morning lessons at the Bishop Brady High School library on Thursday, July 18, 2013. The day's lesson was around public services and getting to know Concord's layout. Thirty students from Chongqing, one of the national central cities in China, traveled to Concord where they are being hosted by local families and improving their English through activities and lessons at Bishop Brady High School. They are here through a program called Spiral International, an educational organization that focuses on intercultural learning.

Students pile on to a school bus before heading out for the day's trip to the Concord Fire Department Headquarters where they toured the station and learned about the role of the department on Thursday, July 18, 2013. Thirty students from Chongqing, one of the national central cities in China, traveled to Concord where they are being hosted by local families and improving their English through activities and lessons at Bishop Brady High School. They are here through a program called Spiral International, an educational organization that focuses on intercultural learning.

Students play a game of ping pong during one of their breaks in their morning lessons in the library of the Bishop Brady High School on Thursday, July 18, 2013. Thirty students from Chongqing, one of the national central cities in China, traveled to Concord where they are being hosted by local families and improving their English through activities and lessons at Bishop Brady High School. They are here through a program called Spiral International, an educational organization that focuses on intercultural learning.

Students work hangs on walls in the library at Bishop Brady High School on Thursday, July 18, 2013. Thirty students from Chongqing, one of the national central cities in China, traveled to Concord where they are being hosted by local families and improving their English through activities and lessons at Bishop Brady High School. They are here through a program called Spiral International, an educational organization that focuses on intercultural learning.

(ANDREA MORALES / Monitor staff)

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE   Monitor staff   Monday, July 22, 2013

(Published in print: Tuesday, July 23, 2013)

The biggest difference Qin Yupei and Wei Meilingzi can point to between China and Concord is the food. In their home city of Chongqing, they eat three hot and spicy meals a day. Here, everything seems to be sugary and cold.

“People in the U.S., they like their sweets,” Meilingzi said as she ate a lunch complete with a juice box and container of applesauce yesterday in the Bishop Brady High School cafeteria.

The two talked about the difference in food as they neared the end of a two-week exchange camp run by SPIRAL International that brings students from Chongqing to study at American schools. The 30 students, ages 12 to 16, and two teachers arrived July 11 and stayed with host families in Concord until today, when they’ll leave and make a quick stop in California before heading home. This is Bishop Brady’s first time hosting the students, and another group of students with the same program are in Bow.

The purpose of the camp is to build understanding and new relationships across cultures. When Bishop Brady teacher Dee Treybig heard about it, she knew it would be a great experience for the Chinese students as well as a group of Bishop Brady students who participate as student ambassadors. In New Hampshire, the students experienced a greatly different climate and culture than in Chongqing, which is located inland in southwest China and has a population of nearly 30 million.

The first three hours of each day were spent on an academic lesson run by Sarah Miller, another Bishop Brady teacher who teaches English as a second language. The students then spent afternoons doing activities that corresponded with the lesson. For example, after a day of learning about

U.S. history and government, the students went to the State House and met Gov. Maggie Hassan. Another day, the students learned about sports and games in America, then went to a Fisher Cats game.

Although the camp lasts less than two weeks, Treybig and the other teachers say they’ve seen an enormous change in the students. The Americans have learned how to speak in simpler terms, and the Chinese, most of whom had a base knowledge of English before coming, can understand much more.

“They are braver than before,” said Shuai Qiang, an English teacher at the school in Chongqing who accompanied the students on their visit to America.

Aside from the food, the Chinese students said they found many differences between home and New Hampshire. The air is much cleaner and the weather cooler and drier, even during a hot week like last week, several students said. They also rarely get to swim in China. During their time in Concord, they went to a pool party at one student’s house and several went to the beach or other swimming areas with their host families during the weekend.

“I like New Hampshire because the weather is very good; the sky in New Hampshire is clean,” said student John Ye.

Another student, Wei Xin, said the most interesting thing she witnessed was the presence of animals. She spotted three wild turkeys in her host family’s backyard during her stay and saw a small deer crossing the road on the way home from the beach this weekend. That is not something she would see in China.

Along with understanding their differences, Treybig hoped the students would also come to see their similarities. One is a love for shopping. After yesterday’s lesson on America’s economy and commerce, the students took a trip to the Steeplegate Mall, where they were let loose to spend any money they had left.

One group of students made a beeline for a display of cell phone cases, while others went to shop for sneakers. The girls wanted to shop at American Eagle Outfitters, and many of the boys carried bags from Abercrombie & Fitch.

“American clothes and shoes are cheaper than in China,” said Yi “Justin” Shouchun. Each of the students have English names that they use in their English classes back at school. He chose the name Justin because he and many of his friends are followers of pop star Justin Bieber, another similarity between the students and their American peers.

After nearly two weeks of getting to know one another, several American students weren’t ready for their new friends to go home.

“It’s been a great week,” said Lindsey Beahm, an upcoming Brady sophomore who had several students staying at her house. “I wish there was more because I’ve grown so close with all of them.”

Building those relationships is exactly what Treybig said she hoped would happen among the students.

“I tell my kids, how to keep peace in the world is to make friendships across the globe,” she said.

(Kathleen Ronayne can be reached at 369-3309 or kronayne@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @kronayne.)