American Culture Visits China

Shauna Hines
News and Features Editor

A group of Apex High School teachers, including Mark Trezona, Emmie Muse, Heather Long, and Brenda Brokke went to China during the summer to teach at a Chinese summer program.

The group of teachers traveled to China to teach at a summer camp on Hainan Island, where they stayed at a five-star hotel. This camp is designed to prepare students for the Gau Cau test.  The Gau Cau is the university entrance exam of China and determines what college students will attend, and potentially their entire future. There is often a lot of pressure on the children because they are often the only child and are expected to do well.

While at the school, the Apex High teachers taught the Chinese students English along with American culture. They explained what type of music American students listen to, demonstrated some common dances such as the cupid shuffle, and taught about American holidays. “The children were always happy to see you,” said Muse, and they wanted to take pictures with the teachers. One unexpected aspect of the trip occurred when the teachers taught through a typhoon, during which the children were roaming around the school on a scavenger hunt.

Ms. Muse with her group of children.

The focus of the Chinese school system is dramatically different from the American school system. In America, some students take specific classes that relate to what occupation they want to have in the future, but the Chinese school system is just preparing for the Gau Cau test. Now remember that this is summer school, not regular school. Students attend school for over ten hours a day preparing for the coming school year. They live on campus and attend school from August to February, with only a one week break.

Despite many differences in culture and education, Chinese students are not very different from American students. Muse says, “The most interesting thing we did was interacting with the kids.”They listen to American music, learn the lyrics, and are constantly on their phones. Unlike American students, however, these students do not play sports or hang out after school, their focus is purely school. While at the school though, the teachers taught students simple games such as kickball, tag, flag football, and dodgeball.

Mr. Trezona playing with the children.

    As part of the trip, the teachers went to the typical sightseeing stops, which included Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China, and the Chinese Palace. They also visited a temple and were allowed access into the priest’s living quarters in the back of the temple, which was lively when compared to the peaceful front section of the temple. At one point the teachers were followed around by a film crew and “treated like celebrities,” says Trezona. He recalls it as being a weird experience because nothing similar had ever happened to him before.

When people hear of the vast numbers of citizens crammed into one place, they can only speculate how congested China actually is. Trezona says that you “don’t imagine big enough,” because the “number of people is beyond what you can comprehend.” China’s population is four times that of the United States of America, with China’s largest city consisting of five million more people than America’s largest state, California.

China is an interesting and beautiful place where one can learn about a different culture. Muse says, “The experience is a great one to have,” and would recommend that anyone take the trip. As for herself, she does not wish to visit China again because there are “too many other places to go.”