Trek down the Great Wall, stop by the site of the 2008 Olympics, and make dumplings with a local family. It’s all in a day’s work on JC’s 2011 China tour.

Group leader and Chinese teacher Fen-Whey Koh will open the trip to the 40 students in the Chinese program before opening it to the rest of the student body.

“We’re all learning Chinese culture and language, and [the students in the Chinese program] are all encouraged to go. If we get 20 people, I’ll be pleased,” Koh said.

This will be Koh’s first major trip abroad with students. Koh, who grew up in Taiwan, has never been to China.

“It’s hard to predict what kind of things we’re going to be exposed to.  For the students as well as me, we will stretch to see something new that we’ve never seen before and to meet people that we have never met before,” Koh said.

Principal Paul Barker cites travel as a major part of learning a foreign language.

“This is what we do in our modern languages, we travel. We pair the language with the opportunity to see where it’s mostly spoken,” Barker said.

After the administration approved the trip, Koh booked the tour through the American Council for International Studies (ACIS). ACIS focuses on student education through travel.  JC has previously booked trips to Ireland, France, Greece, and Italy through ACIS.

On the nine-day guided tour, students will explore the world’s most populous country by visiting historical sites such as the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace, and the Terra Cotta Warriors at Shaanxi.

Junior and Chinese student Abby Wilson said, “I’m excited for our trip to China. We finally get to go because Mrs. Koh always talked about it since freshman year.”

The trip also offers cultural experiences including touring the Jade Buddha Temple, practicing the art of Taiji exercise, and making Chinese dumplings with a local family. While the tour involves meeting a local family, the students will stay in hotels throughout the trip.

The trip to China runs from March 26 to April 3, 2011, and costs $3,490 before taxes and addition fees.

“It’s a huge commitment financially,” Koh said. “But it’s a great opportunity for the students, as well as myself, to learn about a land that is unknown.”

For more information, visit acis.com.

Joey Hoff can be reached for comment at [email protected].