Over the summer, 11 students from the Mandarin Chinese class traveled abroad to China. The group visited Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai; stopping at famous landmarks like the Great Wall of China, Tieman Square, and the Terracotta Warriors along the way.

The differences in the Chinese and American culture were noticed by the students on the trip.

“The way they would always dress was really nice and the babies don’t wear diapers,” junior Kaitrin Francis said.

“The Chinese culture was very interesting. Many of the people were very religious,” junior Tess Worether said.

Besides experiencing different cultures, the students also indulged in new foods.

“It is nothing like the Chinese food here and there’s a lot of dumplings and noodles,” Francis said.

The students were given the opportunity to explore the the cities they visited in small groups during their trip.

“We were walking down the streets of Shanghai at night because our teacher had told us to go explore. We got lost and when we tried to ask for help, they thought we were crazy. We ended up getting back three hours later.” Francis said.

In China, it is not uncommon for shoppers to negotiate prices with vendors, or pay money for unusual things.

“One guy from another school paid a random guy to give him instructions; the guy ended up losing his money and not having any instructions.” Worether said.

The students from Howell were joined by students from the Mandarin Chinese classes at  Francis Howell North and Francis Howell Central because the teacher sponsoring the trip, Ms. Chen, taught at all three schools.

“There were no other teachers to teach Chinese at the other schools, so she had too,” Worether said.

To sum up the trip, “It was an experience I’ll never forget,” Francis said.