Meeting with the Students of No. 34 Middle School - Lanzhou

When my host, Foreign Affairs Director Joe Huo, told me he thought it would be a good idea to meet with local high school students, and speak some English to them, I jumped at the chance.

Before I left for China, I had a work colleague contact a local Orlando school teacher to have his students prepare a DVD for my trip, which showed what life was like at a local high school.

They put together a 20 minute presentation, and also gave me a used textbook to share with the faculty.

Little did I know what I was in for when I arrived at Lanzhou No. 34 middle school.

Here's a photo of the front of the school:

Now, Check out what's on the lower banner, in 3ft high letters:

I met with members of the press, with the Minister of Education of Lanzhou, with the headmaster, and the English teaching staff.

We exchanged gifts, and I took a short tour of the school.

I then went to a classroom of about 50 students, and showed them the DVD made by the Timber Creek High School.

You can see it here

Afterwards, I had the students practice their English with me, and also mentioned to them about community responsibility, and giving back to those less fortunate. I told them about what I'm doing with Packages of Hope for the children of Lanzhou, and encouraged them to volunteer as well. I told them that it was my hope that these students could exchange emails and ideas with students in America, and help bring down the walls that divide our ever shrinking world.

I asked if they agreed that the people of the world should communicate with each other for peace, and they resoundingly replied, "YES!"