On Monday, Feb. 7, the Mandarin Chinese 3/4 class hosted a group of six foreign exchange students and three teachers from Beijing, China. The Chinese class spent lunch with the exchange students and their chaperones in the cafeteria to allow them to experience a typical American school day lunch. After spending the lunch period conversing in both Mandarin Chinese and English to learn more about both the American and the Chinese cultures, the Chinese class invited the exchange students to its classroom.

During class, both the San Ramon students and the exchange students were given the chance to ask each other questions about the different cultures. The San Ramon students learned that a typical school day in China lasts from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., with seven classes a day. Although their school day might seem to be too long, they do have a two-hour long lunch break. While on the topic of lunch,13 year-old exchange student Mary stated that she “like[s] American food, but I like Chinese food best!”

The six students were given the opportunity to visit the Bay Area through the cultural exchange program Encounters after winning a drama competition a few months ago. While programs run by Encounters do not usually visit local schools, this small group was able to visit San Ramon because two of the students were being hosted by Chinese 3 student Ryan Pearce (12) and his family for two nights. In addition, because this group won the grand prize to visit, their trip was only ten days, rather than the usual three-week program. While their trip was shorter, they were still able to visit local colleges, such as UC Berkeley and Stanford, and go on tours to historical landmarks.