Iredell-Statesville Schools School & Family Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 6

Trip to China
Kenny Fletcher is a 17-year-
old “super senior” at Crossroads
Arts and Science Early College.
During this past academic year,
Kenny and his family hosted
a fifteen-year-old freshman
exchange student from China.
Because of this hospitality, he
was invited to be a student
ambassador on a summer
exchange to Beijing. “I didn’t ever
expect to go to China,” Kenny
said. “But I’m so glad I did!”
The opportunity for this
summer travel presented itself
to several students and staff
from Iredell-Statesville Schools
in July. Traveling with the I-SS
guests was Richard Chen, a
17-year-old student from China,
who is attending school in
Burlington, North Carolina. “They
asked me to be a tour guide and
translator,” Richard said. “I said,
‘of course I’ll go’. I’ll get to see
my family while I am there, and it
will be fun.”
The flight to Beijing from
Charlotte had one stop in Detroit
before making the 13-hour
overseas trip to Beijing Capital
International Airport. “We visited
schools, we went into classrooms
and learned paper cutting, tai-chi, tea rituals, so
many things,” Kenny said. “The architecture in
China is amazing, and the Great Wall is beyond
description. We saw the Temple of Heaven, Olympic
Park and the National Stadium. Everything is
very different in China. This was a life-changing
experience for me.”
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When asked about the differences between his
life in Beijing and his time in North Carolina, Richard
explained that “Chinese students only think about
being a student. Students here have more free time.
Both cultures have their advantages, but in China,
academics are much more competitive.” Richard
also commented on Americans needing more
“personal space”. “It’s crowded in Beijing, so people
are used to being closer to each other. That’s not