For the past two weeks students at Tyee Middle School have had the opportunity to learn about diversity on a whole new level – as five students and one teacher from China’s Chongqing Nankai Secondary School visited as part of a new cultural exchange program being developed between the schools.

Organized by administrators from Tyee and Chongqing Nankai, the “sister schools” have been working together since being connected by the Asia Society at last year’s National Chinese Language Conference.

One of the first 20 Hanban – Asia Society Confucius Classrooms in the country, Tyee’s Chinese Language program offers students grade 6 through 8 instruction and immersion in the Chinese language.

The guests, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, Sept. 23, stayed with six host families from Tyee.

James Peterson, vice principal at Tyee, said the visit was a great opportunity for the students to learn, first hand, about other cultures.

Sun Burford, Chinese language instructor at Tyee and the main translator for the students, adds that the exchange was a great way to show the similarities among students from all over the world.

Tyee eighth grader Abby Dy hosted Chongqing Nankai student Caroline Tao after learning about the opportunity in Burford’s class last spring.

“My dad thought it would be a great opportunity to practice Chinese at home,” Dy said. “And to have the cultural experience of having someone in our house.”

In addition to shadowing their hosts’ schedules – including extracurricular activities like sports and clubs, the visiting students also had the opportunity to visit some of the regions most popular landmarks, as well as visit Microsoft.

In order to ensure the students got the most out of their trip, administrators at Tyee set up a suggestion box where students could offer ideas for where the exchange students should visit. Popular suggestions included Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and the Seattle Art Museum.

While Bellevue’s Odle Middle School has had a relationship with a school in Japan for 21 years, this marks the first sister school venture Tyee Middle School has been involved with.

Although no specific plans have been made, it is Peterson’s hope that students from Tyee will have the opportunity to travel to China in the near future for a similar cultural experience.

“That’s definitely the goal,” Peterson said.