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McDonogh Hosts Students from China

Fifteen students and two teachers from Tianjin XinHua High School in China were McDonogh's guests from January 13 – 17. Upper School Chinese Language teacher Pu-mei Leng designed an innovative visit for the exchange students that included school-wide, interdisciplinary activities that immersed them in both American culture and the McDonogh community.

After arriving in the United States, the group was greeted by students and faculty members who volunteered to be their hosts for the week. At McDonogh, the visitors shadowed their hosts through a normal school day and enjoyed many activities including a wellness and yoga session with Michelle Kriebel, an improv dance class with Nina Pongratz, and a tour of the McDonogh Archives with Christine Ameduri. One of the highlights of the week was an immersive art lesson with Rob Lee and a visit to the American Visionary Art Museum.

While the exchange students learned quite a bit about American culture, they also shared pieces of their own, by hosting an authentic Lunar New Year party complete with 600 homemade dumplings. The McDonogh students who were hosts also gained a great deal of insight into a world outside of their own. “I’ve learned so much about my guest as a person and about Chinese culture,” McDonogh senior Maya Ransome noted. While Maya enjoyed learning from the differences between the two cultures, the things they had in common resonated even more. “I enjoyed blasting music while riding back and forth to school every day. I had so much fun singing and dancing with her in the car.”

As a part of the exchange program, McDonogh students will be headed to China this June.