Be the best of yourself

Over the course of the past academic year, students at Guanghua Academy (GHA) and Poly Prep Country Day School in New York built a cultural bridge across the Pacific—one conversation, one creative project, and one shared experience at a time.

Led by GHA College Counseling Office teacher Shi Qi, the two schools established a consistent rhythm of exchange, with a new theme explored each month. GHA students also met regularly in person to develop their projects and prepare for online sessions with their peers in New York.

The topics evolved from simple introductions and school tours to the history and traditions of the Qin Dynasty, as well as school and cultural events such as sports days, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Discovery Day.

Over the course of the year, students created nearly 50 videos, more than 40 posters, and hundreds of documentary-style photographs—a substantial collection of work that captured their curiosity, creativity, and growing understanding of one another.

But the project was about more than exchanging ideas.

It was also an exercise in technology, communication, collaboration, and social connection.

Using a combination of digital platforms—including Zoom, Tencent Meeting, WeChat, Instagram, and Google tools—students learned to navigate communication across different countries and digital environments. GHA students even became informal “tech mentors,” guiding their American peers through the process of setting up and using WeChat.

“I still remember our first video call on WeChat between students in China and the U.S.,” recalled GHA Grade 12 student Hu Kexin.

At first, everyone was a little shy. Some students were even reluctant to appear on camera. But as the conversation developed, heads gradually began appearing from behind the screens. The initial awkwardness quickly gave way to laughter, questions, and an easy sense of connection.

Ma Qianqian, a third-year doctoral student at a New York university and the project's curriculum designer, identified one reason the exchange worked so well: students explored the same themes from different cultural perspectives.

Whether discussing two cities, food, or school life, students were encouraged to recognize both similarities and differences—and to understand how culture shapes the way people see everyday experiences.

Sometimes, the most meaningful cultural connections are found in the most ordinary things.

GHA Grade 11 student Wang Xincheng noticed one such moment during Thanksgiving.

“I saw an American student share a photo of homemade fried dumplings. In China, dumplings are usually boiled or steamed. In the U.S., fried foods like French fries, fried fish, and fried chicken are much more common. Seeing Chinese dumplings prepared in an American style felt like such a simple but vivid example of two food cultures coming together.”

From shy first conversations to unexpected discoveries like “fried dumplings,” students gradually began a journey of discovering the world while seeing their own culture from a new perspective.

Hello, New Friend

While we were busy preparing for the TOEFL, trying to launch new student clubs, or racing to the third floor of the cafeteria for steak and eel noodles, our partners more than 10,000 kilometers away were listening to the same music, following the same artists, and sometimes enjoying the same foods.

In other words, despite the distance, there was already plenty of common ground.

Hu Kexin and Zoey, a Poly Prep student, became one such pair of cross-cultural friends.

Food, Music, and Pop Culture: A Common Language

For both of them, food and entertainment became some of the most accessible ways to explore culture.

In Zoey's handmade poster, “Chinese Culture Through My Eyes,” one side featured Chinese pop stars working internationally, an illustration of Ne Zha, and covers of Chinese-language pop songs. She explained that following celebrities and browsing Xiaohongshu had helped her learn about contemporary Chinese popular culture.

The other side was filled with drawings of xiaolongbao, shumai, and other Chinese foods—memories from a family trip to Hong Kong.

“I was really surprised,” Hu said. “I used to think that when foreigners talked about Chinese culture, they mostly thought about traditional architecture and ancient history. But Zoey was discovering China through pop culture, food, animation, and the interests of young people. That really resonated with me.”

The experience also changed the way Hu thought about introducing Chinese culture to people from other countries.

She realized that cultural exchange does not always need to begin with grand historical narratives. Popular music, everyday food, animation, and youth culture can sometimes provide a more natural starting point for connection.

Their friendship continued beyond the project itself. Zoey became one of Hu's most enthusiastic supporters on social media, regularly liking and encouraging her posts.

“All that support made me really happy,” Hu said. “It also helped me realize that everyone approaches another culture through their own interests. The first thing we need to do is respect those different perspectives.”

GHA Grade 12 student Zheng Manling experienced a similar moment of connection.

After uploading her “Who Am I?” introduction video, she received a message from Isabella Griffith, a Poly Prep student. Isabella mentioned that her younger brother was also a mischievous little troublemaker.

“It made me realize that younger brothers are probably the same everywhere,” Zheng said with a laugh—equally funny and frustrating, no matter which country you live in.

A shared family experience instantly made a distant classmate feel much closer.

In another “Who Am I?” video, Josephine Stoehr from Poly Prep documented her everyday school life in New York. Seeing her routines and experiences made Zheng curious about life beyond China.

“It made me want to learn more about the world outside my own environment,” she said. “I hope I can visit New York myself someday.”

For GHA Grade 12 student Wang Qiyue, the “Who Am I?” videos were the most meaningful part of the exchange.

“I liked them the most because they showed us each other's real lives—what we do every day, what we like, and what our families are like. That is the first step toward truly understanding someone.”

One video particularly stayed with her.

An Yuechen, a Poly Prep student, shared a video about going to church with her family. The lively atmosphere completely challenged Wang's expectations.

“In my imagination, a church had always seemed like a very serious place.”

That moment made her realize something fundamental about cross-cultural exchange:

It constantly challenges what you think you already know.

“This project was completely different from what we learn in a classroom,” Wang reflected. “In class, we often learn theories and concepts. This project gave us a fun and authentic way to step beyond those boundaries, see the world through someone else's eyes, and connect with the world as it really is.”

The More We Talked, the More We Discovered

“When an orange tree grows south of the Huai River, it produces oranges; when it grows north of the Huai, it produces bitter fruit.”

The ancient Chinese saying captures an idea at the heart of the project: context shapes perception.

More than 10,000 kilometers apart, students brought different cultural habits, assumptions, and ways of thinking to the same conversation.

That raised a new challenge:

How do you explain something that feels completely familiar to you in a way that someone from another culture can understand—without losing its meaning or creating misunderstandings?

GHA Grade 11 student Yang Zihan experienced this firsthand.

She realized that communicating with her American peers required her to step outside her own perspective and look at Chinese culture almost as an observer.

“Because traditional culture is so familiar to us, we can sometimes lose our sense of curiosity about it,” Yang explained. “But people are naturally curious about things they don't know. When I saw the projects and posters created by our American partners, I discovered a China that felt fresh and unfamiliar—even to me.”

One example was “Three Realms,” a short film about Qin Dynasty culture and beliefs created by Zoey and Serena.

GHA Grade 11 student Xu Mingyue was particularly impressed.

Using a humorous storyline, the film explored Qin Dynasty culture and the beliefs of people at the time, imagining their journey from ordinary human beings toward immortality.

“The costumes, dialogue, and editing showed how much effort they put into it,” Xu said. “I have never been particularly interested in history, and my knowledge of Qin Dynasty culture was quite limited. But the film gave me a completely new perspective and helped me understand what people at that time actually believed.”

The film also reflected something students repeatedly noticed throughout the exchange: the openness and genuine curiosity of their Poly Prep partners.

They were willing to ask questions, share honest reactions, and engage enthusiastically even when encountering cultural topics that were completely unfamiliar to them.

That openness encouraged GHA students to become more thoughtful communicators.

Again and again, they reconsidered their wording, searched for clearer explanations, and tried to communicate the cultural meaning behind what they were sharing as accurately and appropriately as possible.

In the process, they developed not only stronger communication skills, but also a deeper awareness of their own cultural background.

By learning how to explain their culture to others, they began to understand it more deeply themselves.

As Yang put it:

“When I was explaining something to my partner, I would sometimes suddenly realize, ‘So this is what we are actually like.’”

From Exchange to Creation

A year of conversations eventually became a collection of creative projects—tangible evidence of what students had discovered, questioned, and created together.

Here are two examples.

Yang Zihan: From One-Way Presentation to Two-Way Conversation

“For me, the most valuable parts of this project were often hidden in the smallest moments,” Yang recalled.

When the WeChat group was first created, she began sharing emojis commonly used by young people in China. Her American partner, Avery, immediately loved them.

That gave Yang an idea.

Together with Zhou Chenyu, a Chinese teacher at Poly Prep, she turned the group chat into an informal “WeChat emoji workshop,” teaching Avery how to use and understand Chinese-style digital expressions.

It was a small interaction, but it immediately made the students feel more comfortable with one another.

The same sense of two-way exchange eventually transformed their final project.

Yang had originally imagined creating a Vlog that would simply present aspects of life in China. But as the students exchanged ideas, American students began asking unexpected questions about the scenes and experiences they saw.

“That was when I realized what cultural exchange is really about,” Yang said.

The video was no longer a one-way presentation. It became a conversation.

In the final project, Yang, GHA Grade 11 student Li Mitong, Avery, and Asher Blumberg combined four students' daily-life Vlogs into one shared portrait—a glimpse into everyday life on opposite sides of the Pacific.

Wang Qiyue: Seeing Two Cities Through Local Eyes

Wang Qiyue's group took a different approach.

Their final project was a digital tri-fold guide titled “Shanghai and New York Through Local Eyes.”

“There are already so many travel guides online,” Wang explained. “We thought it would be more interesting and authentic to recommend places from the perspective of local students—to share the places and experiences that tourists might not necessarily find.”

The group had originally hoped to include more personal reflections about traveling in each city, but the limited format meant that some of those ideas had to be left out.

Even so, the final product came together beautifully.

The cover brought together iconic landmarks from Shanghai and New York, while clouds and greenery were incorporated into the interior design. The colorful visual style captured the energy and everyday character of both cities.

According to Zhou Chenyu, the project helped students develop a broader understanding of Chinese school life, youth culture, and everyday language while strengthening their communication skills and encouraging them to see the world from multiple perspectives.

The next phase of the GHA × Poly Prep exchange will expand both the range and depth of student dialogue.

New themes—including museum culture and sports—will introduce additional opportunities for students to explore each other's experiences. The program will also increase the frequency of online meetings where appropriate, building on the existing monthly in-person development sessions and creating more opportunities for real-time conversation and language practice.

The goal is not simply to help students learn about another country.

It is to help them become more comfortable with asking questions, listening across differences, communicating with people from different backgrounds, collaborating toward a shared goal, and reconsidering their own assumptions.

Because sometimes, crossing 10,000 kilometers does not make the world feel larger.

It makes it feel closer.

And sometimes, the best way to discover another culture is to look at your own through someone else's eyes.