2019 China Exchange Trip

Twelve 9th and 10th grade students from the Lycée Francais de Chicago Mandarin program  participated in an exchange with the Daishan High School, Zhejiang province. It was the Lycée’s third exchange trip with China, a wonderful biennial opportunity that exposes our students to native speakers and local culture.

The first phase of the exchange took place from January 29 to February 3, when 16 Chinese exchange students and four chaperones came from Daishan to live with Lycée families and learn about French and American culture from our students and Lycée community. 

From March 28 to April 12, LFC Mandarin teacher Ging Dong organized a trip to China for our students. LFC math teacher Eddy Sebastien chaperoned. The trip included a nine-day visit to Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, followed by a stay on Daishan Island where the students were hosted by students who had visited Chicago earlier this year. For the final six days of the trip, our students lived as local students, attending the neighborhood school.

Throughout the trip, students explored the different faces of China, seeing the rapid economic modernization and understanding its rich history from the past. During the exchange at Daishan High School, students experienced two full days of special Chinese cultural classes. They learned calligraphy, Chinese knot making, paper cutting, traditional music appreciation, martial arts, ping-pong, yo-yo and badminton.  

As part of the trip, the students did not forget to give back and help those who are less fortunate, meeting with orphans in an orphanage in Beijing. They gave them a donation which had been raised by the Lycée Chinese Club. Helping the orphanage has been one of the missions of our China trip since the exchange program began six years ago. It made the exchange trip more meaningful and will remain a highlight of the students’ memories.