The Visit May Be Short, But The Memories Will Last A Lifetime

Students from China enjoy themselves at a potluck dinner this past week at the Oskaloosa Middle School.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – A group of smiling, laughing, wiggling, and energetic elementary/middle school-aged kids and adults met at the Oskaloosa Middle School for one last dinner, before nearly a dozen of them finish their journey.

The teachers and students were here, learning more about America, Iowa, and Oskaloosa, as part of a student exchange program developed with the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School, located in the Hebei Province, China.

The exchange has been in place for several years now, with 19 students and 2 chaperones visiting in January of 2014 on the inaugural visit.

For Emmy Voss, the experience of being a host family to a pair of visitors from China is something they will never forget. The visiting students are 5th and 6th grade children, and are some of the youngest visitors to make the stop in Oskaloosa.

One of the initial fun moments happened when first arriving to the Voss home, as the young visitors discovered that the refrigerator door dispensed ice. “It’s just simple things,” added Voss, “That refrigerator that I take for granted every day of my life… For them that was so interesting.”

The students from China visiting Oskaloosa are a half-world away from home and everything they know, and for Voss, one of her first impressions was how young these world travelers were. “I don’t know if I could let my kids at 11 and 12,” says Voss.

The sharing of ideas and education goes both ways during the visit. The ability of the visiting students to speak English had Voss wondering, “I wish we made our children speak numerous languages by a certain age.”

The experience highlights the differences in education style between the two cultures, and the expectations and end goals of each education system.

Oskaloosa School District Superintendent Russ Reiter said that, for the visiting teachers, spending time at the elementary school, and learning more about how students are taught here, was something they find valuable. “They are very interested in our way of getting kids to read, and what we do to encourage reading, because they are struggling with the same things we are.”

Small group instruction is another aspect of our education system that has gained interest. “They really don’t have small group instruction. Their school has twelve-thousand kids.”

Visually, instruction may look more like a photo from the past US education system from the 1950’s with rows of students.

The challenges of educating students, and finding ways to teach and encourage kids to read, are not that different between the two countries.

Of some of the apparent differences, “Sports isn’t a thing for them,” with the exception of ping pong, added Voss.

Exploring more than education, students staying with host families get to experience a wide range of foods, and many fun memories are built around meals. Cheese curds may not have been so tasty to the visitors, but boiled eggs are a staple of life for them.

The clean air and the ability to drink water from the tap are some of the simple things that students from China often remark on. “Free air,” as it was described by a visiting student.

The experience can be emotional, and even in that short time-frame, bonds are created between individuals. Voss was experiencing those emotions as the group from China held their final group dinner.

“I never thought in a million years I’d get this attached,” said Voss of the experience. “These relationships… I will try to maintain them to see where these boys grow and become.”

“I’m just so glad I got to do this,” says Voss, “I’m so glad my kids got to see a different side of the world and a different dynamic of life. Maybe it’s made them [Voss’ children] feel more appreciative of things they take for granted every day.”

Voss says she takes away a very different impression of China from the experience, who said it hadn’t been on her radar to visit, “now it will be.”

Reiter said that the exchange program is something that the school from China would like to continue, and when possible, Oskaloosa will send students and teachers to China for a visit, with some teachers heading that way in June.