Tomorrow is our last day attending classes with our students. Next week the students hosting us have midterm exams, so we are going on some exciting day trips, including one to a water village and another to visit some Chinese universities. Even though I can't understand what the teachers are saying in the classes, for me, it has been interesting attending classes not only to see the great differences between the U. S. and China, but also the similarities. Something that struck me this morning was the morning exercises, a lap of running, that each class does before the first class. Each class lines up in a formation as the Chinese national anthem plays, and this always happens in an orderly fashion without the students talking or using their phones. Something like this would almost certainly not happen at DHS, as it would be very difficult to organize the students without any disruption. Additionally, the girls bow to their teachers at the start of class, and when the teachers are talking, the students do not use their phones or talk as some students do in America. Overall, I have noticed that the class environment in China is much more formal than America. However, there are also some similarities. Often, the vast differences between our two schools are emphasized, and while these certainly exist, I have discovered that I can relate to the students much more than I thought I would. Recently, I have been talking with Jenny, my host sister, a lot about her school. I have noticed that similarly to us American students, the students at Shanghai Number 3 Girls' School also like to poke fun at their teachers, laugh hysterically when someone tells a joke in class, complain about their homework, and talk with their classmates whenever they get the chance. Through this trip I have learned that, even though many things are different, some aspects of school life are very similar to Darien High School, which is interesting because often only the differences between Chinese and American schools are stressed. As we travel, this is something I will look for, to spot things our cultures have in common even amongst great differences.