BCPS Bids Farewell to Chinese Exchange Students

Baltimore County Public Schools officials, students, staff and family gathered at the on Monday. The event was the fifth-annual celebration of the district's Cultural Exchange Program with China and a farewell to 31 visiting students and two teachers from Tie Yi School in Xi'an, China.

The students, who arrived in the country on Feb. 16, had been staying with host families and attending Hereford, , , , and high schools.

“[The exchange program] prepares children for today’s college. It broadens the student experience and you see how it touches the families,” said Linda Masters, a coordinator for the program and a Dulaney library staff member. “It’s amazing how close they get in eight weeks.”

Jindian Liu, a Chinese exchange student who attended Towson High, had nothing but praise for the program.

“I really enjoy it here. It’s really fun. I can experience a lot about American society. I really like it,” he said.

Liu has been staying with Towson High junior David Eber, his mother Dawn Jones and the family dog.

“We’ve had a super time with Jindian,” Jones said. “He always wears really nice suits that the dog likes to shed all over.”

Eber said he is looking forward to visiting Liu in China. 

The bond Liu and his host family developed doesn’t surprise Peggy Johnson, director of the Office of World Languages, which organizes the exchange program.

“If you look around and see the students and families interacting with each other, you know why we do it,” Johnson said.

The program Monday evening began with a few song-and-dance numbers from Patapsco High’s Great Expectations, a show choir.

Zona Tinkham, a Chinese exchange student, performed a soothing, mellow tune on the ruan, a Chinese musical instrument similar to a guitar. Ben Yarkony, also from China, then belted out the song "No Matter What," featuring English and Chinese lyrics.

After the entertainment segment, former Baltimore County public school students discussed the impact the exchange program had on their lives.

Bethany Reynolds, a Washington and Lee University sophomore majoring in Chinese and Spanish, participated in the program in 2008 while attending Dulaney High. She said cross-cultural experiences are important in understanding international relations and conflict.

“A lot of these problems are from a lack of perspective,” she said. “[By participating in the exchange program], you’re going to be able to see behind the screen of China and see why it is the way it is.”

A group of five Chinese exchange students then came on stage to express their gratitude to their American hosts. One appreciative student said, “I can’t believe two months went by. You tried your best to make us feel at home. Because of you, we love America.”

Chinese and American students presented a plaque of appreciation to Superintendent Joe Hairston.

The school district will be sending 27 students and three teachers to China in May. 

"I think it's going to change their lives," said Mara Rochon, a Patapsco High Chinese teacher who will accompany the students. "They're going to remember it forever."