s students begin the new semester. Some are going back to school with fond memories from their Spring Festival holiday. Fourteen students and one teacher, Ms. Einhe He, were the first-ever participants of the Ameson Foundation’s latest exchange program the Sino-American Youth Ambassadors program, or SAYA.

Spending a week in an education and culture exchange with Belmont High School in Boston, Massachusetts and a week of traveling to New York and Washington D.C., the students returned to China to share their experiences with classmates, teachers and staff at the Ameson Foundation. For many of the students it was their first time in the United States and their first time in a non-Chinese high school. Their excitement and appreciation is reflected in some of the essays the participating students wrote.

Cherry Zheng, a student at Yangzhou High School wrote:

“The life in Belmont and at Belmont High School was an unforgettable experience for me. I really cherish the five days in Belmont. In my eyes, all the people there are very friendly and enthusiastic. It makes me very happy that I can show the importance of this program. I not only shared information about China to the American people, but I brought back many memories from their society.”

For student Terry Tan, also a student at Yangzhou High School, he was interested in the differences in learning styles in the U.S. Compared to China when he wrote:

“The teacher emphasized on the interaction between students and teacher. He walked around moved around and sat on the table with any posture he wanted. He created the dynamic atmosphere by using jokes examples and showing a broadcast and video on the internet. It facilitates the learning of the concepts of Economics. I would take Economics in senior 3. Its great!”

A slideshow of the students in at Belmont High School can be found here.

More reflections on the students’ and Ms. Einhe He’s experience as a part of the inaugural SAYA program will be featured in the April issue of The Voice.