Friday, September 2, 2011

First Week in Pictures: Essex Town School

Students at Essex Town School received a fun surprise at the start of the new year: the school's bulletin boards were decorated to highlight some of the wonderful aspects of Thai culture by their Visiting Scholar from Thailand, Thitima.


Thitima: First Project at Essex School

Week One in Pictures


View pictures from the Visiting Scholars first week in Vermont.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Lu Jianhong: First Impressions of Vermont

The Visiting Scholars have been in Vermont for less than a week. The following post is from Lu Jianhong, a Visiting Scholar from the Dajing High School in Shanghai, China.


My First Impression of Vermont
 Now I have been in Vermont for a week, and I do experience a lot during the whole period.

Vermont is really a beautiful place, and on my way to my homestay with Gerry I feel I am  in a painting with blue sky and white soft cloud and there is green grass and green leaves everywhere.

Marki, Skyla, Tian and I went hike in Putney Mountain, and we saw a kind of special tree named elephant tree because it resembles an elephant. There is a tradition here that when people reach the tree, they usually leave a message in the tree hole. Marki happened to have a notebook, so we wrote a note and signed our names, then put it in the hole of the tree. When we hiked, we seldom met with people. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery to our best. We also picked some blueberries that day.

On Friday evening we went to a potluck party, and about fifteen people took part in it. On the way I saw some appliances outside some house Susan told me they are for sale. People only need to put down money and take away the stuff that they want without informing the owner.

People here are very friendly. I live in Tim and Susan’s home. They make me feel at home.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

2011-2012 Visiting Scholars arrive

Visiting Scholars at the waterfront in Burlington
It was with much excited anticipation that the ASOP staff was looking forward to the weekend of August 20th, the weekend when the Visiting Scholars would be arriving from China and Thailand.

Bill Williams and Gerry Gatz took turns greeting the Visiting Scholars at the airport: as they have had years of experience with international travel, the delayed flights, canceled flights and late night arrivals did not come as a great shock to the two veterans of the Visiting Scholars program. The Visiting Scholars arrived safely, albeit tired, with all of their luggage.
Visiting Scholars from Thailand in the ASOP office




On the Monday and Tuesday, Bill and Gerry brought the Visiting Scholars to the University of Vermont, where the 8 Visiting Scholars were able to visit the ASOP office, the Office of International Education, and the UVM campus.
First meal with host family and friends

 The Visiting Scholars were happy to spend a few hours together, as on Tuesday afternoon they were picked up by their host families and would begin their cultural exchange programs.

The Visiting Scholars Program: An Introduction


To assist Vermont schools in teaching about Asia, the Asian Studies Outreach Program at the University of Vermont directly invites visiting teachers from China and Thailand. The Visiting Scholars share various aspects of their cultures to Vermont students in classrooms K-12, including special events such as the International Festival or special school-wide programs.

This program has been in existence for over ten years, and in that time over 100 Visiting Scholars have visited Vermont, and thousands of Vermont students have had the opportunity to become friends with someone from a different culture, and to learn about different culture.

In sharing their culture, Visiting Scholars contribute a great deal to the schools and community. This blog is meant to share some of their adventures and reflections of the Visiting Scholars at the host schools and in Vermont.