Local News

Sept. 7, 2006

Students spend summer in China

By Andrew Junker
The Catholic Sun

A group of five St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School students spent 19 days in China this summer meeting with Chinese students and learning about fiscal responsibility.

The American junior high students shared the lessons learned from the Money Smart Kids program taught at St. Thomas with young people living in a Communist country that has only recently begun to open up some of its markets.

Pat Blaha, a St. Thomas the Apostle teacher who chaperoned the trip, said the experience taught the Chinese students something very new.

“Up until a decade ago, everything was really provided by the government and there wasn’t free cash,” Blaha said. Now that the country’s citizens have a greater degree of economic freedom, they face a new set of problems.

“You need to think about choices when you spend money. Should I be spending it? Is it a good choice? Am I getting a good value for it?” were all questions discussed by the students, Blaha said.

In addition to talking about personal savings and investment, the trip served as a leadership camp for both sets of students. They discussed problems that will affect the world in the coming decades and possible solutions.

“The whole idea was to get Chinese kids and American kids working together, solving problems,” Blaha said.

Tommy Williams, a St. Thomas the Apostle student who made the trip, said problem solving was an integral part of the interaction. These activities fostered teamwork and creative thinking.

He and another American shared a dorm room with four Chinese students. After a quick breakfast, they had the opportunity to workout in a gym before language classes. The afternoons were filled with other group activities.

Williams said such close interaction with the Chinese students forged a fast relationship.

“It was a really good friendship,” he said, noting the similarities he found between the American and Chinese students, which included a similar taste in pop music. One difference Williams did find was the personal freedom enjoyed in America.

“They were just surprised at some of the stuff we have,” Williams said, “like living in houses. Only their very important leaders live in houses. They all lived in apartment complexes.”

The students “were overwhelmed that we were at one of the top universities in their country and they don’t have Internet access,” Blaha said. “It’s very controlled.”