Chinese, U.S. students plant roots of friendship, understanding(4)

Warm home visit

Visits to the homes of ordinary Chinese families added a deeper personal touch to the U.S. students' trip.

Brynn Castle, who is due to start studying at college soon, was invited to visit the home of Zhang Xinyi, the Chinese student she was partnered with, the night before leaving Hebei.

"It was a really cool experience to see how their home is laid out and the similarities and differences between their house and my home," Castle said. "In my home (in Iowa), we have a lot of decorations, but they're more gifts from other people or family photos."

She said one of the main differences was that the decorations in the Chinese home had deep cultural symbolism.

"They had a lot of symbolism for good fortune. A lot of the symbols are red," she said, adding there were fish images on the wall and other omens for good fortune in the coming year.

The family members she met were "so kind" and "very welcoming", Castle said.

Before going to the apartment, Zhang's mother and cousin joined the pair and showed the U.S. student around the neighborhood near their apartment.

They dined out, and Castle was impressed by the hot pot, as well as lamb served with a peanut sauce she had chosen.

They then went to the family home. In Zhang's room, the two girls quickly found they shared a lot more interests and had a great deal to talk about.

In the sitting room, Castle and the family members enjoyed tea and snacks, browsed photo albums and shared interesting stories about each other's families. They even exchanged tips on keeping pets.

"I didn't get to talk to them as much (directly), as the language barrier is a little difficult. But my partner translated for me, so I talked to them as much as I could," Castle said.

As they said goodbye late in the night, Zhang gave a Chinese history book and a persimmon-shaped memento to Castle as gifts. In Mandarin, the pronunciation of persimmon is similar to part of an auspicious phrase-"all things go well".

"May it bring you good luck and light your way forward," Zhang told her U.S. friend.

Castle called it "an emotional night" and one for which she was very grateful. "If she comes to America, I would love to show her my home and show her Iowa," Castle said.

At Yuerong Park in Hebei's Xiong'an New Area, the students from both countries attended the last scheduled event of the exchange trip — a relaxed stroll around the park after lunch.

Four of the U.S. female students were intrigued when they saw older women dancing in a meadow and decided to join in.

When it was time to say a final goodbye, many of the students who were paired together exchanged gifts, signed notes and writing pads for one another, and tightly embraced.

One of the male students from Iowa gave his Chinese friend a brand-new $20 bank note as a present.

"Go find a girl and buy her some flowers," he said in a sincere voice with a big, sheepish smile.