East Meets West At Waterford High School

A group of 15 Chinese exchange students along with two school administrators from Weihai #2 High School in Weihai, China, spent this week with host families in Waterford and attending classes at Waterford High School.

Yesterday, they spent their final night celebrating with a pot luck supper of take-out Chinese food at the high school cafeteria and looking at a slideshow of everything they'd done on their brief visit. And, because teens are pretty much the same all over the world, the evening ended with them—shyly at first—showing off their dance moves to the latest hits. 

High School Counselor Yuan Yuan Chen and teacher Peter Hunt first started working on this exchange program in 2005. In 2008, the first six students arrived from Weihai with a vice principal and a teacher. 

"This is beyond my wildest dreams," said Hunt. "We struggled to build interest. When I look at the community coming together tonight, it just blows me away."

High School Principal Andre Hauser, School Superintendent Jerome Belair, School Board Chairwoman Kathleen McCarty, and First Selectman Dan Steward were all in attendance and exchanged gifts with Weihai school officials.

Waterford leaders presented the Chinese visitors with commemorative Waterford Crystal, a copy of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and Lancer hoodies, which were a big hit. From Weihai, the school received three stunning silk paintings.  

Hunt, who took a trip to Weihai with four students in April, said, "Our goal is now to continue building support to take a return trip to Weihai with even more students. Our relationship is growing on a foundation of trust and of personal relationships that these visits bring about."

Not all of the students spoke much English. The Weiss family, which hosted two students, said only one of their two guest spoke English a little so they spent the week communicating via sign language with lots of show and tell.

"I really enjoyed having them," said Janet Weiss, whose 16-year-old triplets Jared, Jake, and Jodi, attend Waterford High School. "They were really sweet, nice kids." 

A number of Waterford students became fast friends with their partners from China. Kristyn Hanner and Jiaming Teng, both 17, said "we're best friends." 

"Every day was excellent," said Teng, adding that her favorite part of the trip, which included tours of MIT and Harvard in Boston, Quinnipiac College in Connecticut, and a trip to Mystic Seaport, was spending time with Kristyn and her family. 

"I feel like I'm living in American movies," said Teng. "Everybody is very friendly."  

Teng said she liked the "free style" of the school, which she described as beautiful and modern and much smaller than her school in Weihai. 

Hauser said the college tours were included as part of the trip because one of the goals of Waterford's sister school in China is to send students to universities in the United States. Teng said she would definitely be up for that. 

"I have a dream to come here if I have a chance to come back," she said.