Day One, July 21st
At 9 AM I arrived at Bexley High School, ready and excited to see what was instore for me. I sat in a room with other volunteers as we quickly learned what we would be doing for the day. Once my team arrived, we played get to know you games which, I learned very quickley, was hard because of the language barrier. From the games, I learned that the names of the boys in my group were Shen Yihang, Pan Zheyu, Wan Wenhe, Yang Shanqi, and Ni Jianeng. After I got to know my group, we headed off to the statehouse. We learned about the government system and how it differs from China. After the statehouse we rode to dinner on a bus. I sat next to Yang Shanqi who I practiced speaking chinese with! It made me feel more confident and ready to talk to the other students. By the end of the day, I became more excited for the next. I was ready to practice and learn more chinese and also make more friends!
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Day Two, July 22nd
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Day two was a little more interesting. I got to know my group a little better and I made a lot of new friends with the other volunteers. In the morning, my group and I sat in on a science and English class. The teacher did not quite understand that my group did not speak English very well. I spent most of my time helping the students understand what she was saying. After class we had a quick lunch at the China Buffet and then we were off to the Dayton Air Force Museum. Once we got there, we split off into our groups which allowed me to spend time with my new friends! I took them all around the museum and showed them all of the sights that they wanted to see most. On our wat back to Bexley, we stopped at McDonalds. By the end of the day, I started to understand more about the Chinese culture!
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Day Three, July 23rd
Day three was by far my favorite day. Instead of going to Bexley Highschool, we went to OSU to learn more! We took an English, engineering, and a math class. This was an interesting way to learn because I got to watch and experience how the Chinese students learned and the differences between American and Chinese culture. After classes, we walked to Joys Village for lunch. This was a very unique experience because we ate Chinese style. I learned that everyone shares meals kind of like a family style meal! I though that this was really cool because instead of one dish you can try many dishes. After Lunch we walked around OSU and saw what the campus is like. Afterwards, I got to take my group of kids home, including two other girls because they did not have a group! This was definitely my favorite thing because we got to give them American food and show them what an American house is like. They all tried corn on the cob for the first time and many other foods that they loved. For dessert we gave them apple pie and ice cream. They never had apple pie before, so it was really fun to see their reactions!
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Day Four, July 24th
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Day four started off with our usal classes of English and math. I helped the teacher translate to the students because they did not understand what she was saying! This helped me become a lot more confident in my Chinese skills because I was able to practice outside of my schools classroom. After classes we went to the China Buffet which was very good. I sat with my group and they gave me many different types of foods to try! After lunch we headed off to hocking hills. I found this to be very exciting because I love traveling and exploring! I took my group on a 3 mile hike and showed them all of the cool sights in the short amount of time that we had. They found it to be really fun and I liked to watch their reactions to the sights!
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Day Five, July 25th
We started off the day with a art and math class. This allowed me the opportunity learn more about my creative side and see how others think creatively too! After class we had pizza for lunch and then split up into groups. The Chinese students continued to take classes while the volunteers learned how to write in Chinese. I wrote each of my students a goodbye note so that they would each remember the fun week that we had. After the other volunteers and I finished writing our letters we rejoined with the chinsese students for our leaving ceremony. The leader of the program put together a slideshow of a bunch of the pictures from the week which we all were able to watch. After that, we were handed certificates for our volunteer hours that we had. The students took many pictures of me and then handed me gifts from China! I was very sad to leave them after spending an amazing week with my new friends. But, before I left, they made me download WeChat so that I am able to text them! Ever since camp, I still text them and I am glad that I made new lifelong friends!
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