SACO – Maine schools have made headlines recently for bringing more and more international students — especially from Asia — to live and learn in America.

Boarding programs like the one at Thornton Academy were created in part to support and expand educational programs, an important trend as the population of school-aged children declines.

But for young people at our school and for those like myself who come in contact with educators around the globe, it’s the personal impact of cultural exchanges that matter more than anything else.

Along with 12 students and two other teachers at Thornton, I had the honor of visiting China this year.

The adventure began last September when I was approached by Chris Indorf, TA’s associate head for teaching and learning, about running a class on Asian and Chinese culture. He took a group of students to China in 2010 and has said many times that it was the most professionally satisfying experience of his career.

How could I say no?

At an all-school meeting, I announced we would again offer the class and an opportunity to visit China, paid for in part by a student-run spring yard sale. One of the best things I can say about the students who came forward and enrolled is that each individual had varied interests and yet everyone was able to become fast friends.

In May, our trip started with a middle-of-the-night excursion from Thornton to Boston to catch a 6 a.m. flight. From there we took the transcontinental flight to San Francisco and then took a Boeing 747 to Beijing.

As we headed to our destination, we were glued to the windows to see the country that would be our home for the next two weeks. It was unusually quiet as we all looked at snow-capped peaks surrounding the city.

Our stay was short in Beijing, only four days, but we crammed as much as we could into our time there. We saw Tiananmen Square, Mao’s Tomb, the Tombs of the Ming Dynasty, The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, The Olympic Village, The Silk Market, The Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall — about as much as you can see by walking.

A favorite question from the students was, “How much longer do you think we will walk?” To which there almost always came the quick retort, “Just 10 minutes!” Between the food, the tours, the history and the culture lessons from our tour guide, we learned a lot.

Our next flight was to Shenzhen, a southern coastal city with a population of 12 million, where we met two teachers from Cuiyuan High School. Thornton has a relationship with this school, and the faculty had many activities planned over five days.

Thornton students taught classes in American culture, history and English, and the Chinese students taught Chinese history, culture, calligraphy and language.

Thornton teachers met in small groups with their counterparts to discuss curriculum and different teaching styles.

By the time we left, everyone had learned a lot and felt they were part of the school. One of our students said to me as we were leaving, “They really are just like us.” I simply smiled.

We have kept in contact since going on the trip, and I’m happy to say the Cuiyuan students and teachers will visit TA in August.

Next we took a local train service to Hong Kong. It was the one leg of the trip where we were going to be without a guide and would need to find our way to the hotel in Causeway Bay. But by now we felt pretty secure with our navigation skills and were helped by the fact that all the signs in Hong Kong are printed in both Chinese and English.

In Hong Kong, we visited Victoria’s Peak at night and spent time with the parents of two of our international students. We connected with the students via Skype in the morning and then spent the afternoon with their parents.

The parents heard all about their children’s day-to-day lives in Saco, got to meet some of their children’s friends, and we were able to see their home. It was all very rewarding.

We then made our way to the Hong Kong airport and started the long process — including a 15-hour plane ride — of returning to the United States.

Everyone enjoyed the trip, but I think it’s safe to say that we all looked forward to being home after 13 days away.

The ideas, images and experiences of our trip will stay with us for a very long time, and I believe our students and our school will in some small way be changed because of the China 12.

What a great trip to take as Thornton Academy prepares to open a second dorm and welcome 114 international students to campus this fall.

– Special to the Press Herald