Twenty-four Northeast Ohio middle- and high-school students are spending this week immersed in Chinese language, culture and cuisine at the fifth annual Chinese Summer Camp put on by the university’s Confucius Institute.
Highlights include morning Tai Chi on Coleman Common, a dragon dance class on Tuesday, and calligraphy and Chinese song lessons on Thursday.
Each day’s agenda includes a Chinese language class and a Chinese-themed snack. A field trip to Cleveland on Friday includes lunch at Li Wah, a Chinese restaurant in Asia Plaza, and a tour of the Chinese art collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
"Students who attend camp come away with more than a better understanding of the Chinese culture," says Nancy Easterling, the camp coordinator and program coordinator of the institute. "They are more globally aware, and they understand the value learning foreign languages."
The camp also introduces students to UA and the institute. Kaley Franks loved her camp experience so much she enrolled at UA. Now a sophomore, Franks just returned from a semester of study at China's Henan University. A Confucius Institute scholarship provided the opportunity.
And Franks is sharing her experience: This week, she's one of the camp counselors.
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Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.