愿我们在更广阔的世界里再次相遇
Daniel Zhang 张钧豪
愿我们在更广阔的世界里再次相遇。 这些话语将永生难忘。2026年7月5日至10日这一周，是一段丰富多彩的经历。与上海中学生们共同生活，感受上海的魅力，让我对这座城市、这里的人民和文化有了远超预期的深刻理解。上海悠久的历史、深厚的文化底蕴和令人垂涎的美食，让我意识到这座城市拥有无限的潜力。它有它独特魅力，比任何其他地方都更加复杂而美丽。它熙熙攘攘，永远充满活力，美得令人着迷，值得探索。我发现这座城市不仅仅是公寓和办公楼，它拥有我从未见过的美丽博物馆、古老的城镇和现代化的购物中心。一生都不足以体验完整的上海，甚至连大部分都无法尽览，更遑论浦东的大部分地区。要真正领略这座城市的魅力，需要难以想象的时间。这座城市变化如此之快，你永远无法看清它的全貌。
虽然我觉得这座城市很美，风景如画，购物场所琳琅满目，但我最欣赏的还是这里的人。我记得开学第一天，我以为学生们会泾渭分明地分成美国学生和中国学生两组。我是第一个到的，我所在楼层的中国学生在右边，美国学生在左边，这更加印证了我的猜测。我当时觉得接下来的一周，两组学生或许不会有什么交流。然而，我完全错了。中国学生比我想象的要热情友好得多。他们总是乐于用英语交流，总是热情地向我们介绍学校，也总是乐于在需要的时候与当地人问询。即使老师不在，中国学生也会主动与他人交流。随着一周的共同生活，我看到两组学生逐渐融合，中美学生之间的隔阂彻底消失了。我们都在学习，都在探索世界。我记得中国学生邀请我们去他们的房间一起看世界杯，或者吃点零食，这证明中美学生之间真的没有任何隔阂。能这么快就被另一方接纳和理解，我感到无比荣幸，也希望将来有机会再次体验这样的经历。
我们参观了他们的高中，了解了来自世界各地学生的学习和成长方式。当然，很多方面都截然不同，但通过这些经历，我们发现彼此之间的相似之处远远超出了我们的预期。中国中学生热爱运动，参加的许多运动项目和我们在美国参加的相同。他们学习努力，玩乐也尽兴，喜欢开玩笑，而且对学校的了解也和我对我自己的学校一样深刻。回想起来，世界比我们想象的要小得多。这个项目让我们与来自世界各地的学生更加亲近，也让我们意识到彼此之间有多么相似。上海是一座美丽的城市，工作人员热情地为我们介绍了许多新人新事物。上海不仅美丽，上海人也同样美丽，甚至更加美丽。
May we finally meet again in a bigger world. Words which will be hard to forget. Over the course of the week of July 5th-July 10th, 2026, I was shocked in more ways than one. Living with students and Shanghai taught me more about the city, people, and culture than I could ever predict or even think that I would know before. It’s been revealed to me that Shanghai has so much to offer, through beautiful history, strong culture, and even better food. The city itself is its own person, and a person more deeply complicated and beautiful than anywhere else. It’s busy and there is always something going on, but at the same time, beautiful with more to be done. I’ve learned that this city is filled with more than just apartments and offices. It has beautiful museums, ancient towns, and modern malls beyond anything I had ever seen before. You could not see all of Shanghai in one lifetime. You could not see most of Shanghai in one lifetime. You could not see most of Pudong in one lifetime. To see all this city has to offer would take no less than an unimaginable amount of years. This city is always growing, and you will never see it all.
While I believe that this city is beautiful, sites are grand, and shopping is endless, I found something even better in the people. I remember my first day, I assumed there would be a clear American and Chinese split between the students. I was the first student to arrive, and this was encouraged by the fact that all the Chinese students on my floor were on the right, and all the American students on my floor were on the left. Immediately, I was under the assumption that throughout the week, the two groups wouldn’t mix. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Chinese students were more welcoming than I thought, and even better, much more friendly. They were always open to speaking in English, always open to tell us about the school, and always open to step in to communicate with locals when needed. Even when teachers and instructors were not around, Chinese students still went out of their way to build relationships with others. As the week went on, I saw both groups mix to a point where there was no American Chinese difference. We were all just students learning more about the world. I recall that Chinese students would invite us over to their rooms to watch the World Cup or eat snacks, proving that there was no gap between the Chinese and American students. To be accepted so quickly by a different school was an honor, and an honor I hope to receive again.
We were shown how great their high school was, and we learned how students learned and grew in schools across the world. A lot was most definitely different, but through all that, we were able to see that we were more similar than we thought. Chinese students love to play sports, and they play a lot of the same sports as we do in America. They work hard and play hard, joke around, and know their school just like I know mine. In reflection, the world is much smaller than we thought, as this program brought us so much closer to students across the world, and showed us how similar we all really are. Shanghai as a city has shown us so much, and the staff were so kind as to show us so many people. A beautiful city, and a people who are just as beautiful, if not more.
More Than a Trip: Memories from Shanghai
Alan Li李松君
Spending part of my summer at the Pudong-Montgomery County Youth Exchange Program was an unforgettable experience. It gave me the chance to meet people from different cultural backgrounds and learn valuable lessons that I will carry with me in the future.
When I first walked up to the dorms at Bei Cai High School, I was unsure of how the camp would go. I was incredibly nervous because this was my first time being separated from my parents while visiting China. However, my worries were quickly washed away when we were kindly greeted by the many student representatives from the school. They gave us a tour and showed us all the amazing things that came with their Maritime School. They had many science centers focused on ship design, as well as other science labs. They even had fish! After I got settled in, I got to experience, without a doubt, the best part of the whole trip: the people. I headed downstairs and met several more students in the library, and we quickly became friends. We chatted about our hobbies, school lives, and cultures.
Over the next week, we visited many landmarks and interesting places throughout Shanghai, including the Shanghai Tower and several museums. It was a great opportunity to learn about another culture, especially one with such ancient roots. One example was a historic village that we visited during the trip. We also got to explore the modern side of Shanghai, including a massive mall filled with countless things to discover. Its size and scale were unlike anything I had experienced in the United States.
However, the most memorable experiences were the ones I shared with the other campers and the students from China. The constant exchange of culture, stories, and food, along with our nightly games of Impostor and UNO, created memories that I will always remember. I learned just as much about Chinese culture from these students as I did from the museums and historical sites. They were incredibly kind, funny, and always willing to help whenever we had a problem.
I would like to sincerely thank the facilitators and staff of both programs who made this experience possible, as well as the students from China who made the trip so enjoyable. This exchange taught me that some of the most meaningful parts of traveling are not just the places you visit, but the people you meet along the way. I am incredibly grateful for the friendships, experiences, and memories I made during this trip, and I know I will carry them with me for years to come.
Website Editor: Grace Yan
华府青年 CYOC 
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