dents asked if we would like them to translate our website into
Mandarin so that it would be more marketable to other Chinese
initiative of these students and pleased with the result. In the next
two articles, Xingkai and Yichen write about their decision to work
on our website and their overall experience at Shorecrest.
exchange student at Shorecrest
been at Shorecrest for two years, and
before I came to Shorecrest, I went to
school at Senior High School, attached to
Shandong Normal University in Jinan
City, Shandong Province, People's Re-
public of China. I came to Shorecrest in
September 2011 as a junior, and this year
I am going to graduate from Shorecrest
to the school, American culture and education system. I worked
hard to catch up on the materials I missed and get used to the
curricula. I was glad it did not take me a long time to be able to
communicate well with my teachers and classmates, and I could
understand what my teachers were teaching just as well as the
American students could. I also took advantage of the school's
resources by taking many AP classes during my junior and senior
year. I think that by offering AP classes, Shorecrest provided stu-
dents a chance to challenge themselves, and as for myself, AP
classes pushed me to study hard and I believe they will help me
to excel in college.
host families, and I had a real good time with them. Here I really
want to thank the three families that hosted me: the Elingers, the
Vivios and the Bartletts. They not only helped me to improve my
English skill dramatically but also gave me an overview of
American ways of thinking. I also felt happy when I shared
Chinese culture and traditions with them. When I first came here,
me strong support and did whatever they could to help to adjust
to the school. There are many examples where they offered their
selfless help to me, and the experience of living with host families
not only extended my American cultural experience but also
made me feel grateful to my parents in China and understand
their love and support to me.