Jordan Yee, freshman at Falcon High School, is spending his summer in China, where he will teach English to Chinese youth. The trip is sponsored by the Wo International Center in Punahou, Hawaii.To qualify for the trip, Jordan had to write an essay and interview with officials from Wo International. Accompanying Jordan are 30 high school students from Punahou High School in Honolulu.Jordan is of Chinese descent, and this is not his first trip to China. Five years ago, Jordan traveled to China with his family when they adopted Jordan’s sister, Alisha. In preparation for this trip, Jordan has been attending Colorado College to learn Mandarin, which is China’s national language.All of the participating students will attend a three-week course on China at the Punahou School in Honolulu. From there, they will fly to China to visit Beijing and Shanghai. The students will spend most of their stay in the rural village of Baojing. To get there, they will take a train and then will walk the last leg of the journey because there is no transportation service in Baojing.The program requires that the students teach English to local Chinese youngsters, along with teaching them a variety of skills. Jordan said he will teach the youth how to play basketball since he plays at Falcon High School; he also plans to teach them how to solve the Rubik’s Cube.After he’s finished with high school, Jordan plans to become a doctor. He said he enjoys science and views medicine as a way to help make the world a better place.Jordan said his grandfather, who lives in Hawaii, had dreamed of sending his grandchildren to China to study. Jordan is the first grandchild to do so.
