Long journey (02/26/2009)

They bounce words off each other like a tennis ball.

English, then Chinese. Chinese, then English. It continues until they have gone through every word on the list.

And at the end of the day, they have learned more from each other than just a new language.

"This has helped me grow as a person and have better understanding of different people," said Jay School Corporation Superintendent Tim Long. He has been learning Chinese from foreign exchange student Yajuan She, in preparation for a trip to China. And, in turn, he is teaching her English.

Yajuan also has learned how to come out of her shell and have some fun.

"Tim Long has had such a positive effect on her," said Phil Ford, Jay County High School principal.

Yajuan, 16, has been in Jay County since June, and plans to return home to Changsha City, in Hunan, China, this June. She is staying with Pastor Jim Nichols and his wife Karen.

Long will travel to China on April 8, and return on April 27. He will be visiting several locations to learn about China's education system.

His trip is being funded through a grant awarded to the International Education Consortium. As part of the program, several principals from China also are coming to the United States.

While in China, Long will be learning about the strict regimen of the Chinese educational system, as well as teaching the Chinese about the creativity involved in the American educational system. Eight school officials from Indiana and eight from Massachusetts will be making the trip.

A principal from China, Naiqia Du, will be visiting Jay County High School. She is expected to arrive in Jay County Sunday, then an invitation-only reception in her honor will be held Monday at 7 p.m. The principal will tour and learn about the school system, attend a Jay County High School basketball game, speak at the Rotary Club and attend a dinner at the Lions Club.

The Chinese principal will leave for China on March 6.

"When I got (accepted into the program) I didn't know how I would learn to speak Chinese, which I still don't very well," Long said with a chuckle.

He later found out that the school had a Chinese exchange student - Yajuan. He met her and her host family and asked if the two could work together. For the last couple of months, they have been meeting two to three times a week, from 8 to 8:35 a.m.

Long and Yajuan have been going through a workbook and learning how to read and write in Chinese and English. To prepare for his trip, Long has been reading "Cinderella" in Chinese and "Chinese Phrases for Dummies". The two also have created flash cards to help them learn the languages and have listened to language-teaching tapes.

Yajuan was quiet during a recent interview at Jay County High School. She had scribbled down a few prepared statements to bring to the interview. She said she is doing her best to pronounce English words as a foreigner.

"She has worked very hard on her English and has come a very long way," Long said.

Long also has worked to perfect his Chinese by practicing it in public. He has asked asking for specific items at the Chinese restaurants in Portland. While at the restaurants, he practices using chopsticks - an art he hasn't quite mastered. He can only eat with the chopsticks if they are bound by a rubber band - a fact that Yajuan teased him about recently.

Long has also been reading about Chinese culture and talking to people who have recently visited the country.

Yajuan also has been teaching Long about Chinese mannerisms and customs.

"This has been a great relationship for me because otherwise, I would not have had a link to Chinese culture," the superintendent said.

"I think it's been a good experience for him," Ford said of Long. "It gives him something else to be excited about."

Long explained what he has learned so far. "The Chinese people are really very honest and they tell the truth," Long said. "I would say blunt - they're very blunt but very honest."

Yajuan has had a learning experience of her own while she has been in Jay County.

She has learned a lot about American culture.

Long said the Chinese tend to think Americans are silly and eat unhealthy foods. He said - just as Americans - the Chinese get their perceptions of what Americans are like through television and movies.

"The cultural exchange is very good," he said of what he and Yajuan have learned from each other.

Since arriving in Jay County, Yajuan has had many American experiences and tasted many American foods. So far, her favorite food is Subway.

She has become good friends with Long's daughter, Kathryn, a senior at Monroe Central High School. The two attended an NBA game together, where they saw Chinese star Yao Ming's Houston Rockets play the Indiana Pacers. Yajuan held up a sign for Yao and he waved at her and invited her to come onto the court and shoot a few baskets.

Kathryn and Yajuan stay in contact via the Internet.

Because of her work with Long, Yajuan also can now communicate more effectively with her peers at school, which has helped her make more friends.

"She was very shy and I think she's a little less shy now," Long said.

Long and Yajuan also have formed a strong bond, Ford said.

"When he walks into the room, she lights up like a Christmas tree," the principal said. "I think with (Long) there's a very definite paternal type bond there," Ford added.

Yajuan, an only child, mostly communicates with her parents in China via the Internet. She recently learned that her dog ran away from home.

"Oh, I miss my dog," she said sadly.

Although Yajuan misses her family, she and Long agree that their time together has been beneficial for both in many ways.

"It's been good," Long said.

"Good," Yajuan agreed with a smile.[[In-content Ad]]