Chagrin Falls High School students gained a new perspective on the world after a recent trip to China.
Bridge to the World to China
Chagrin Falls High School students gained a new perspective on the world after a recent trip to China. The teens and their two chaperones traveled June 18 through July 1 to visit a sister school in the city of Taizhou in Zhejian Province. The trip was part of the Bridge to the World program, designed to help students stretch their horizons and develop greater global awareness.
After a nearly 40-hour trip, including a five-hour drive from the Shanghai airport, the group arrived late at night and was met by its host families.
“Although many students were nervous at being whisked away to a family’s house in the middle of the night in rural China, thousands of miles away from anyone they knew, it was a testament to their fortitude and the kids’ ability to have an open mind to try new things,” said Assistant Principal Rob Winton.
For the next five days, the American students went to class with their Chinese counterparts at Huipu High School, toured the city, ate authentic food and experienced what it is actually like to live in China. Some students lived in luxurious homes with wealthy families, while others stayed in more modest accommodations.
“Many of the students slept on bamboo mats and were in a household that included grandparents, uncles, aunts, parents and kids, none of whom spoke English except for the student they were partnered with,” Winton said.
The students developed strong bonds with their new Chinese friends and were sad to leave at the end of the homestay. Then, they toured Shanghai, Xi’an and Beijing, visiting sites such as the World Financial Center, the Terracotta Warriors, Tiedemann Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall.
While the students were in China, other groups of CFHS students traveled to France and Costa Rica. In August, some of their new Chinese friends will visit Chagrin Falls. Future trips include a trip to the Global Student Leaders Summit in Davos, Switzerland, in 2015.
Superintendent Robert Hunt and Winton will travel to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, in November, where they will visit Jeppe School for Boys, which has already been a sister school to CFHS, and St. Stithians, which has also requested to partner with CFHS. They will evaluate the schools and surrounding area to determine safety and other factors for a future trip.
Chagrin Falls’ families will host students and teachers from South Africa in October 2015, while CFHS students will travel to the chosen sister school in June 2016.
