As mentioned in an Immersed post earlier this month, The New Century School hosted a second group of school-age Chinese children for a 2-week stay. All from Beijing, Jiaxuan Bai (“Tracy”) and her sister “Elisa,” Jiaming Jin (“Michael”), Junze Ma (“Frank”), Chuxuan Zhang (“Alice”) and Jiran Li (“Mia”), escorted by Elisa and Tracy’s grandmother, Shuling Zhang, arrived Saturday, February 9th and depart on Saturday, the 23rd. Their first day of school at TNCS was Monday, the 11th, and TNCS students couldn’t wait to meet them, having had such a nice time with Lucy, Meg, Tiger, and Tiffany during the preceding 2 weeks.
Once again, Candace Moore was the group’s Exchange Coordinator, and she gave them an orientation on Saturday in their Airbnb, followed by a trip to the grocery store. Sunday was a rest-and-relax day and a chance to adjust to the new hours. On Monday, school closed due to inclement weather in the greater Baltimore area, so Ms. Moore took the group shopping at Target and Five Below (city roads were clear, so driving was safe within the city). Their excitement and wonder to be inside those two Hallowed Halls of Worldly Goods are quite evident!
At The New Century School
On Tuesday, their routine began. They would arrive at TNCS by 8:30 am, attend assigned classes including such specialty classes as English as a Second Language, Music, Art and others, have school lunch, and return to their Airbnb for dinner. Tracy and Alice, both going on age 12, and Michael, age 14, all joined Mrs. Madrazo‘s middle school classroom. Elisa and Mia, ages 8 and 9, respectively, joined Mrs. Biancaniello‘s 2nd- 3rd-grade class room, and Frank, a 4th-grader, joined Ms. Sharma’s 4th- and 5th-grade classroom. They participated in lessons, in-class activities, and the odd walkabout!
No visit to TNCS is complete without a cooking session, and this one was no different. Li Laoshi likes to use Chinese class time on Fridays to do something fun, culturally fun, and so each class made Chinese noodles from scratch. The prize noodle was made by Michael!
Students also got to try their hand at bucket drumming with TNCS strings teacher Yoshi Horiguchi, another activity that is quickly becoming de rigueur at TNCS (see videos of Yoshi bucket-drumming with some of last-year’s visitors here).
Other Activities
The group’s visit coincided with the Presidents’ Day holiday, so they had a 4-day weekend to sightsee in and around Baltimore during their stay. On Friday, the 15th, accompanied by some of their TNCS friends, they played indoor laser tag and mini-golf at Monster Mini Golf in Parkville, which was a huge hit. The next day they traveled to Washington, D.C. to see the White House, among other important U.S. landmarks. On Sunday, they toured the Baltimore Museum of Art and ate at TNCS’s favorite Chinese restaurant, Orient Express. On Monday, the 18th, they visited the National Aquarium and walked around the Inner Harbor.
The students got unexpected breaks from the classroom as well. A second inclement weather–induced school closing happened on Wednesday, the 20th . . . this time with 5 glorious inches of snow blanketing the ground! When it snows in Baltimore, kids head in droves to Pagoda Hill in Patterson Park, as our Chinese friends soon learned—they couldn’t believe how many of their TNCS friends were there!
They enjoyed sledding very much, a special treat, as snow in Beijing is a rarity. After their escapades in the snow, they visited TNCS Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director Jennifer Lawner’s house for an afternoon of games and some fun in the kitchen.
Interview with the Group
On their last day at TNCS, Immersed was lucky enough to sit down with the four older children (Michael, Tracy, Frank, and Alice, in the order shown left to right below) to hear firsthand about their experience. (Elisa and Mia were occupied in class.) It should be noted that both Tracy and Alice have been to the United States before, having come with their parents who came to expand their work in medical research. Tracy lived in Washington, D.C. for 2 years in 2015, attending Stone Mill Elementary during that time, and Alice in Boston for 1 year, attending Pierce School. The interview is transcribed below—you will see some clear themes emerging!
Immersed: Why did you want to come to study at TNCS?
Tracy: Because I wanted to see what the people my age are doing, like, how they study.
Alice: Because the air is fresh and I can play in the playground.
Michael: I like America.
Frank: Because the air is fresh, and everything is so good so I can study better. Also, the food is better than at my school in China.
Immersed: What did you think of TNCS? Did you notice anything different about TNCS from your school?
Tracy: TNCS is great. I like the teachers; they’re nice to me. When I have questions, like about a word I don’t know, they’ll explain it. What is different in my school, after lunch, we get into the classroom and start working on our homework because we have so much. We don’t have recess.
Alice: I think TNCS is very good. We can play in the playground. I notice that he homework is not too much.
Michael: It’s very good. The students in my class were very nice to me and want to be friends with me. The teachers are good, too. What is different is that it’s so active in the classroom.
Frank: [Holding up two thumbs and two big toes] What I like is the same as the other answers.
Immersed: What was your favorite activity outside of school?
Tracy: I like spending so much time outside. I liked the aquarium.
Alice: I liked the aquarium, too. The art museum.
Michael: Visiting the Aquarium and the White House.
Frank: Going to Target and Five Below!
Immersed: What are your hobbies?
Tracy: Skiing, ice-skating and making crafts.
Alice: Ice-skating and making origami.
Immersed: Did you go out to eat anywhere?
Tracy: My grandmother usually cooked dinner, but once we went to a place to eat chicken. While we are in school, Candace takes her shopping and to see things. She takes a lot of photos outside like the sculpture of the blue crab.
Immersed: Okay, last and most important question—what was your favorite food?
Tracy: Tacos! Candace might take me to Taco Bell tomorrow for lunch.
Alice: French fries!
Michael: Pizza!
Frank: Hamburger, fries, pizza, juice!
Farewell, Friends!
As has become the tradition, TNCS hosted a closing ceremony with speeches of thank-you’s from both hosts and guests, presentation of certificates, and snacks.
TNCS was so honored to have you and will miss you, Tracy, Elisa, Michael, Alice, Frank, and Mia! Please stay in touch Bǎochí liánxì (保持联系)!
It must be said that having the visitors in class for 2 weeks meant that TNCS students got a bit of a holiday as well. In addition to making balloon animals and doing other fun activities that helped cement relationships and increased the number of opportunities for relaxed (and therefore authentic) communication, they got to go on an extra field trip during that time to the 
