Students gather at a summer school in the UK. In recent years, overseas summer study camps have become very popular among Chinese students. (Photo/China Daily)
On a warm summer day in the peaceful English university city of Cambridge, a group of teenage Chinese students was hosting a charity barbeque lunch to raise funds for the East Anglia Children's Hospice.
Big smiles appeared on their faces as they saw weeks of preparation turn into a meaningful and enjoyable gathering, which also raised more than 1,000 pounds ($1,300) for the charity they got together to support.
The scene took place in August last year at a summer camp hosted by the Cambridge Centre for Languages. The program, spanning about a month, offered students intensive training in English and understanding of British culture. Daily academic lessons were balanced with fun activities including dancing, singing, sports and weekend trips to well-known British attractions.
"We craft the program to give students an authentic glimpse into quintessential British culture, which is rich in history, arts, literature, technology and a lot more," said Laura Chen, principal of the centre.
For Chinese students, such experience-based summer camps are a welcome break from their heavy academic burden and exam results-driven classes at home. Many are also, for the first time, encountering tasks that enhance social skills, creativity and teamwork. Organizing a charity lunch is one such example.
Many Chinese students are away from home for the first time, and the experience of taking care of their own schedules, food, laundry and other life requirements in an unfamiliar country while also being in a foreign-language environment is quite a coming-of-age experience.
"The kids come home transformed," said Qian Jingjing, head teacher of the Wuhan Foreign Languages School in Hubei province, which sends secondary school children to Britain, the United States, Japan, France and Germany every year.
"Ninety percent of parents tell us that their children become more grateful for their parents' love and care. They realize that no matter how much their homestay parents love them, it is only their own parents who would bother to cook them a bowl of egg noodles in the middle of the night when they say they are hungry," Qian said.
In recent years, overseas summer study camps have become very popular among Chinese students. In July and August, crowds of Chinese students gather at popular tourist attractions, including the British Museum, the Tower of London, the Palace of Westminster and the Globe Theatre.
Such a trend is perhaps not surprising considering that the UK and US are the two most popular summer camp destinations, together hosting about 60 percent of outbound Chinese students, according to estimates by New Oriental Education & Technology Group.
On the surface, such summer school programs differ little from what British students receive in school during term time.
But in reality, such programs can be eye-opening experiences for Chinese students coming to the UK.
"For the first time in a long while, I felt that I could forget about exam results and piles of homework. I loved sitting on the grass, looking at the sky and reflecting about life," said Wu Jiaming, a 14-year-old girl from Fujian province.
In drama class, she played Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and eventually discovered a passion for acting. "That was my first time trying out acting. It was such a magical experience. It allowed me to see the world from a different perspective," Wu said.
Han Yuxuan, a 15-year-old boy also from Fujian, says he learned to appreciate life's little surprises.
"One day, we received a little assignment, which tasked us with taking a picture together with someone from Cambridge. I approached the owner of a pop-up food stall outside Cambridge City Hall and asked in English if I could take a photo with him. He replied 'yes' in Chinese, and I was pleasantly surprised," Han said.
Han exchanged contacts with the pop-up store owner on WeChat, and the two friends still send each other greetings during holidays such as Spring Festival.
For students such as Wu and Han, such experiences are treasured memories in their journey into adulthood. Similar experiences are sure to be shared by many more Chinese students for years to come.
Chinese travel agency Ctrip forecasts that the number of overseas study trips made by Chinese students this year will reach about 1 million, and these trips will together trigger 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in spending. This forecast represents a 50 percent rise on the number of overseas study trips last year.
