Overlake Cultural Exchange: An Interview with Jennifer Pan and Limei Xu

Cultural Exchange

This week Overlake launched the Cultural Exchange for students from China to come to Overlake and enhance their English skills and immerse themselves into American culture. In developing this program, Limei Xu, one of the Cultural Exchange teachers, explains that because “we’ve been getting more and more interest from Chinese students coming here for summer camp,” this program allows Overlake to help them “transition and enhance their language skills and also navigate through the camps.”

We’re so excited and honored that they chose to spend their summers with us. Throughout this week, as they learned about American culture, we also had the opportunity to learn a couple Chinese phrases and about what life is like in China.

We interviewed Limei Xu and Jen Pan, the Cultural Exchange teachers, to learn more about the program. Here’s what they shared:

Limei: Today I heard one student commenting on his summer camp experience, and he said that summer camp here is so much more fun than what is offered in China. [Through this program,] I wanted them to get to know American kids and have a good time because over there summer camps are more like boot camps and intensive studies. So far they have had a lot of fun, and I’m sure their English has improved too.

Jen: I think seeing American culture, practicing their English, learning the ins and outs of what’s okay, and developing a general awareness of what it’s like to be here versus what it’s like to be in China.

Limei: This morning, for instance, we talked to them about manners and how to give people more personal space in this culture. For example, how to be polite and respectful by thanking teachers and bus drivers or people who serve us food. Sometimes there are some things they might not expect in this culture, and this is an opportunity for us to teach them about the culture.

Jen: It’s kind of neat, since I was born here and Limei was born in China, I’m kind of [representing] someone who can speak Chinese but still act very American. We also make sure to have the exchange students integrate with other students after class and try to have them talk to staff.

Jen: They bring in a total different kind of humor and I think it’s enlightening for me to see what they think of America and for me to see what it’s like to grow up in China. I liked seeing them get excited about anything I bring to them. [We played] Apples to Apples, and even though they may not understand every word on the cards, they still got a good kick out of it. Or we’d say we’re getting cupcakes, and they got SO excited about that one cupcake.

Limei: I think a lot of them are too shy and afraid of making mistakes. They really need to be more willing to learn from failures and mistakes and to just get it out there. My advice to them is to keep trying and to be curious about everything here, and that’s how they can learn.

Limei: We’re hoping to expand! We’re hoping to do more sessions with more kids. It looks like we’ve gotten a lot of attraction here this year and already have a lot of Chinese kids here.

Jen: I think this first week is about getting comfortable, and then next week and next summer, I think it’d be neat to push a little more English and integrate them to speak more English.