A new world opens with prejudices left at the door – World

“I think that's how I changed my mind by leaving preconceptions and prejudices aside,” says Isaiah Long, an American student who recently visited China.

“Going head first and getting real experiences and opinions,” is the way to go, said Long, an 11th grader at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington.

Long made the remarks after returning from an 11-day trip to China, March 17-27, with 23 other high school students. They visited Beijing, Shiyan in Hubei province, as well as Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

“When I discarded prejudices or preconceived ideas about China, it allowed me to learn more about China,” Long said. “The best way to experience the country and gain knowledge about a country is to go to the country itself and meet the people.”

In November, President Xi Jinping announced that China would invite 50,000 young Americans to visit over the next five years.

The 24 students, 10 from Lincoln High School and 14 from neighboring Steilacoom High School, were visiting China for the first time.

In Beijing, they visited landmarks such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City as well as the sites that hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The students also visited the campuses of several Chinese schools, including Tsinghua University High School and Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, both in Beijing, and Shenzhen Nanshan Foreign Language High School, in Shenzhen.

“I love China and I think it’s very beautiful,” said Annaliese Colbaugh, an 11th grader at Lincoln High School. “I loved seeing all the monuments and the people are really welcoming and kind.”

Colbaugh said her grandfather thought it would be dangerous for her to go to China.

“I heard some negative things while I was here (at home), but I went there and it opened my eyes. After I came back, I just explained the whole trip to him and that it It was probably one of the safest places I've been. It really changed his view of China. “

Her favorite part of the trip, she said, was visiting the schools and seeing how they are run. She still talks to many of her friends in China on WeChat, she said.

“I would probably go back to China with my family. I told them it was a great place and I would love to go back. But it would be with them.”

'Like at home'

Jersey Jefferson, an 11th grader at Lincoln High School, said his time in Beijing was “like home.”

“The weather was more like Washington, so I didn't feel like I was really far from home. Everyone was super nice and I felt accepted there, so I really had fun .”

Jefferson said his favorite place was Beijing Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, where the American student delegation was greeted with a lion dance and wushu performance. She also enjoyed the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, she said, saying it was like “walking on history.”

“I never thought I would ever be able to walk the Great Wall. I was, I guess, one of the first people in my family to go to China. My grandmother was really excited. She wants to see all the photos, she wants to hear everything, she wants to see all the gifts.

Since returning, she has encouraged many of her school friends to follow in her footsteps, she said.

Montserrat Romero-Rocha, a Grade 12 student at Lincoln High School, said, “We've had so many unique opportunities, and it's just amazing. It's changed my life.”

It was his first visit to China, but his older sister Abranna, who was also a student at Lincoln High School, was among more than 100 students and teachers invited to China after Xi's visit to the school during of his first state visit to the United States. Chinese President in 2015.

“I think the trip to China (in 2016) really influenced her. She's been exploring the world ever since. China was her first avenue to see that. She was influenced and continued to be influenced to go see other places.”

Abranna Romero-Rocha now works in Spokane as a college counselor and recently began law school.

The younger sister said one of her favorite parts of her own trip to China was being involved in daily school life, and she told family and friends about her more than five hours of interactions with his Chinese peers at the Shenzhen Nanshan Foreign Language High School.

The school was the last stop before the delegation left China. Activities that the American students and their Chinese classmates participated in included painting, dancing, singing and volleyball.

“(The visit to Shenzhen) had a lot of impact on me because it was the last group of people I was able to interact with before leaving (China),” Montserrat Romero-Rocha said. “Everyone was so nice and nice and nice. And I now have friends from different schools that I talk to and keep in touch with.”

She wants to return to China and stay there for at least six months or a year, she said.

Karl Hoseth, principal of Lincoln High School, said: “Seeing them interact positively with the students in China was truly heartwarming. It was such a fantastic, once in a lifetime experience. I'm really hopeful. for this sort of thing in terms of the impact on future generations.

Huge help

Hoseth was present at a banquet in San Francisco in November when Xi announced the initiative to send 50,000 American students to China.

“It’s been a big help,” Hoseth said. “I heard it in the audience and thought it would be a great opportunity for our Lincoln students. But I had no idea that we would be among the very first to go and then we would have to other opportunities to send students here in the coming months.

From 2016 to 2019, three trips were made from Lincoln High School to China.

“Then it was paused for a while when the pandemic happened, and so I'm very grateful that we're now able to start again and grateful for this initiative and for those who really helped us make this happen. produce for our students,” Oseth said.

He would encourage people to visit China, he said, and believes that being exposed to different cultures, countries, lifestyles and stories is invaluable.

“As a school, one of the things that really excites me is that there is this long-standing connection between China and Lincoln High School, and in particular with President Xi, who is there was delivered in 2015.

“And so with that, there have been a number of groups that have wanted to help support the return of some of our students to China. So there is a possibility coming this summer where we will be able to send some students to China. China again.”