South Pasadena Middle School students who are enrolled in the dual immersion program are being invited for the first time to participate in the upcoming “Dragon Tour to Jiangsu Province” in China June 8-16.
The event is being hosted by the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club.
The middle schoolers will join students from South Pasadena High School, which has been involved in the club’s program since it began more than 30 years ago.
The club’s last trip to China was in 2019, but more tours in subsequent years were halted because of strict COVID restrictions in China.
This year, however, there will be 45 middle school and 45 high school students going on the trip, according to Yuki Cutcheon, Chinese-American Club president. She will be one of the 10 chaperones along with City Councilman Jon Primuth, who speaks Mandarin.
The group is traveling at the invitation of the Jiangsu Education Services for International Exchange (JESIE) to visit Jiangsu Province, which is an eastern coastal province north of Shanghai.
Cutcheon said the trip is being held in conjunction with the South Pasadena Unified School District, and credited Superintendent Geoff Yantz with encouraging middle schoolers to be included because of the progression of the dual immersion program.
JESIE organizes the bulk of the program, explained Cutcheon, who said that South Pasadena students would be matched with a school in the province.
“A highlight of the program is that each student is paired with a Chinese family for three days,” Cutcheon said. “Every single student has loved that part. They spend time with the family, have dinner and [stay] overnight with them.
“It’s an unparalleled experience. It’s eye-opening. There is nothing like staying at a home in China.”
Cutcheon said that former participants still keep in touch with the families they were matched up with during the trip.
“My daughter [Charis Au], who went on the last trip, still talks with the family she stayed with,” said Cutcheon, adding that not all of the families are wealthy and some live in small apartments.
Cutcheon said that the Chinese are also excited about the exchange experience.
“The Chinese are invested and intrigued by these exchanges,” Cutcheon said. “The media is very interested. Our ambassadors [the five students who take the lead in speaking on behalf of the group] will get interviewed.”
The visits allow the Chinese students a chance to practice their English. There are some students from South Pasadena who are fluent in Mandarin, but others are not. Being fluent is not a requirement.
Cutcheon said that she doesn’t speak Mandarin, but that most things on the tour are explained in English.
JESIE covers nearly all of the cost of travel, food, hotel, entrance tickets and other needs. The Chinese-American Club provides travel shirts and gifts that will be given out in China.
Cutcheon said that the club had a “huge response” in terms of applications, with 100 people applying from the high school and 70 applying from the middle school. Applications for the trip are closed.
“There was a huge amount of excitement,” Cutcheon said. “So many people applied, but we couldn’t take them all.”
First published in the May 17 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
