I took part in my school's exchange program with China back in 98 (we also had one with the US and Australia).
I was 15 at the time and had been learning Chinese as my fourth foreign language for two years at that point (Latin, English, French, Chinese, Ancient Greek).
Chinese wasn't mandatory, but I was into Manga/Anime and I didn't want to go to evening classes for Japanese. So I took the Chinese class at our school, because I assumed it couldn't be too different.
And I got hooked. I eventually even went to University (TU) at the weekend to study with Chinese kids (we're talking mostly 1st / 2nd graders, but still :p).
Our principal approached me one day and asked, if I wanted to partake in our school's exchange program with Beijing's Wu Zhong (5th middle school). I was thrilled and honored, but didn't have the money.
My grandparents came to the rescue when I told them about it. They said, that it was a great opportunity to broaden my horizon and paid for the flight and gave me some extra cash.
So at the spring of 98 I went to Beijing to meet my exchange family (family "Yang"). They were originally from the South (Hang Zhou, I later went there to visit the family). And even though I'd never met them before, they made me feel like part of the family right away. We lived in a tall apartment complex at the 3rd or 4th highway ring at the 15th or 16th floor. Even the neighbors were really kind to me. I remember an old lady in the elevator of our building calling me "handsome" (not as flattery, but more as a nice gesture).
My buddy Yang Zheng was like a brother to me. He even had a similar English name to mine. And we both loved playing video games.
Thanks to him I discovered Neo Geo emulation, Virtua Fighter 2, QQ, Internet cafes (where I played my first rounds of Star Craft) and shady games/VCD vendors (real store front, but you just filled out a list and then collected your "items" outside in the backyard).
He was more into basketball, but still went out his way to take me to the backyards where the kids played soccer (because I kinda sucked at basketball, but was at least somewhat capable at soccer).
My Chinese dad (Professor Yang Yuanyi) lead an institute, that worked on modern Chemical products like skin care and advised the government on Chemical safety (from what I understood). My Chinese mom worked directly for the government regarding ecological matters (preserving nature etc). They were kinda upper middle class, because they had 3 rooms and their own bathroom, which wasn't super common at the time (I only learned that later when visiting other friends, who sometimes shared their bedroom with their grandma and had to use the communal bathroom).
And even though they didn't own a car, we had a really nice neighbor, who would drive us around in his black VW Santana. Thanks to him I got to see the outskirts, the further parts of the Chang Cheng, the lake, that provided fresh water to Beijing - and later we even went to Bei Da He, which is far up in the North.
I loved everything about Beijing and went everywhere on my bike. I discovered the massive number of tech shops around the 4th highway ring and even bought my first VHS player (which by the time was old-school for Chinese, who had switched to VCD/SVCD already and would soon transition to DVD).
And I loved going to school. To me it wasn't any different from any other school (except for the morning drill and the kinda mandatory Tai Chi). I sat in the back with the the more "slacky" students (shout out to Xu Kexin and Zhao Qi, who'd dubbed me "Shun Di", a nickname I've kept to this day). We made fun of the teachers, passed notes around, snickered and ranked the girls.
And we all agreed, that Wang Ying was the hottest of them all. But even though we all tried everything in the book to get her to date one of us, she wasn't interested at all ("Why would I want a boyfriend, which would limit me to one particular guy, when instead I can have a whole bunch of really good male friends?"). Also, she had a crush on a soccer player (Owen Something, can't remember). So there was no chance in hell.
I also vividly remember the first time we went to a public indoor pool. After you'd proven, that you were capable of swimming, you could do whatever you liked. You could even set up a table and eat right next to the pool. Glorious times.
Oh, also our first time at Pizza Hut. Wang Ying was from a very traditional rich family, so she'd never used a fork + knife before. I couldn't comprehend how someone could actually struggle to cut out a piece of pizza, but the struggle was real, alright. :-P
In the summer we went to Hang Zhou, which has a ton of other stories attached (the train ride alone was an adventure, taking up a whole day/night). But I'll keep it short: the beautiful West Lake, weird unsweetened water ice, pagodas, bamboo forests, temples, hot tea and hot soup in the middle of summer after climbing the hills and sweating like crazy. Also, I'd dyed my hair black in an attempt to look more Chinese (I know, cringe, and the barber didn't get my decision, as pretty much all other customers would have loved to have blonde hair).
And at some point my Chinese family told me, that they considered me as a part of the family. "Whenever you feel lonely, don't forget, that you have a family here in China."
Yeah, I fell in love with the country and the people. I actually cried on the plane on my flight back home. Getting off at Tegel airport Berlin felt so small compared to Beijing.
I went back there a few more times (I even celebrated my 17th birthday in Beijing - at the ice rink). I even met my Chinese dad in Berlin a few years later when he visited/spoke at a symposium.
But over the years I have lost contact with all of them. Life gets in the way. A few years ago I almost contacted my Chinese dad, when I found out he had been to Germany to speak at another symposium. I received his current email address, but I never wrote a mail. I just wouldn't know what to write ...
