While some students chose to take hiatus from school over spring break, others took this time off to explore a brand new high school.

 The past two weeks 14 EHS students and two teachers traveled to Beijing and Chengdu China as a part of an exchange program introduced to the school this year. Here the students and faculty members explored the touristy side of China and observed classes at The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University.

 “I’d been wanting to do something kind of spontaneous and out of my comfort zone before going away to college and it seemed like the perfect opportunity,” senior Hannah Miracle said.

 As a part of the exchange program the students were able to stay with the families of the Chinese students they hosted in February.

 “I hosted a girl named Helen…,” said junior Jamie Skigen who stayed with Helen when she visited china. “She has the sweetest family. They were so welcoming and kind towards me. I wasn’t fully comfortable for the first day or so but after that it felt like home.”

 With every far off adventure in a new country comes major culture shock. This was visible for the students even before they arrived in China.

 “[Helen] did talk a lot [while she was here] about the educational differences. For example, we go to school for a much shorter time frame and have more freedom when it comes to after-school activities. The Chinese students go to school until about 5 p.m. and then go straight home to do homework until bedtime,” Skigen said.

 Besides the educational differences, food and living conditions came as a shock to all.

 “The food was very different and didn’t always sit very well (which was definitely a bit of a struggle),” Miracle said. “There was a lot of stuff that pushed us way out of our comfort zones but I think we all just kind of embraced it because the experience was so cool.”

 Senior Dianna Craig also found it difficult to adjust to the food.

 “The food for sure [was the biggest culture shock]. American Chinese food restaurants are a joke. It’s absolutely nothing like real Chinese food,” Craig said. “Most of the time I didn’t know what the heck I was eating but at one point I just didn’t ask anymore and went with it.”

 Senior Mitch McSparin found the language barrier to be the biggest struggle of the trip, but viewed this as a way for him to challenge himself and learn something new.

 “I started taking an interest at the start of the meetings with Mr. Paur, I learned a few things and really started taking an interest in it and tried to learn as much as I could before the trip and it came easily to me,” McSparin said. “I had fun with people and tried to speak as much Mandarin as I know, but it was too much to handle.”

 This overwhelming difference in cultures allowed the students to realize that living in China might be out of the picture but visiting again is not.

 “I don’t know if I’d necessarily want to live there, but I’d definitely consider studying abroad in China for a semester in college if I had the chance…,” Miracle said. “[visiting China] was hands down the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”