I recently participated in an 11 day Summer English Camp in Yangshuo, China as a part of our local Sister Cities commitment. Carolyn Franzini, Ann Scott, and myself have returned from Yangshuo in the province of Guangxi, China where we taught English to Chinese English teachers from the middle and primary schools of Yangshuo County. Over 73 teachers representing as many schools attended the camp sponsored by the Yangshuo County Department of Education. This was the first time that Foreign English teachers had participated in teacher training in the Yangshuo area. Yangshuo, a tropical town, is located in Southern China and has about the same climate as Cuba.

We three Sister Cities teachers prepared for the camp by taking private tutoring in conversational Chinese, preparing lessons to teach the Chinese teachers, and researching China in general. Teachers in the countryside of Yangshuo often teach English along with seven or more other subjects and needed more training in spoken English. We Sister Cities teachers experienced many cultural differences such as food, transportation, and teaching schedules, but found the teachers of Yangshuo to be very interested in learning Western culture and education. It was a true cultural exchange. Many friendships were sparked and hopefully will continue with next year's summer camp. Teachers came many miles on bicycles and motorcycles to attend the camp.