编者按：

2014年2月19日至29日，我校14名学生和2名带队教师组团前往美国北卡罗来纳州，对与我校合作开展国际连线课程的北卡数理高中进行为期十天的访问。以下是访问团学生的所想所感。

As I walked through the front gate of Bryan Lobby, I was greatly astounded by the sight of the wonderful facilities and the hall filled with host students. I found my way through the crowd and finally ran into my host Miranda, who grabbed my luggage and greeted me with extreme warmth. I had the feeling that this was going to be so different from the usual tourist trip to this land we all crave for.

The intention of this trip was for us to take part in the daily life of NCSSM, a school that generates one of the best students in North Carolina, and indeed we managed to immerse ourselves in their lives with the help of our hosts. I was surprised to find that all students at NCSSM showed friendliness towards my arrival as an outsider and within a day, I had made so many friends that I can proudly say I got myself entirely involved into the life of an American.

Life in the NCSSM campus was so different from what we have in high school here in China, I was quite happy to find that the host students have a very flexible schedule that often allow them some extra sleep in the morning. Other than classes, the students also do workout and hang out with friends. They sign check at both 8 PM and 10:30 PM to make sure they are safe and sound in their dormitory; usually they would stay up until 1 am, which after 10 days nearly wore me out. What I saw and experienced in this high school was so much like the life in college, a combination of haste and enjoyment.

I spent most of my time here with Americans, which provided me with a chance to observe their life and learn about their view towards China, which was pretty interesting and sometimes even hilarious. Some curious Americans thought of China as an extremely, poorly underdeveloped country without iPhones or cinemas. I received so many weird questions that I finally began to recognize the way people think about China. I also happened to have a chance to experience the true American spirit. I got invited to a birthday party, where the elders and children all rock and roll like lunatics; the party was filled with singing and screaming, which made it into something like an amusement park. I also went to a church with Miranda’s family, where I experienced the sacred moment as a catholic.

To sum up my extraordinary experience in Durham is: When we get a chance to Americanize ourselves in ten days, it is when all things become crazy but also cozy.

— 翁乔晗（高一A班）

这次游学最大的收获便是看到了最清晰的美国高中生活实景；相比中国学生的礼貌疏远，美国学生把每一位访问学生都视为集体之中，正是这样的热情和自然，让我们的游学更加精彩和充实。

令我印象深刻的是寝室；没有过多冰冷的条规，她们把寝室布置得温馨可爱，加上和谐愉快的气氛，寝室与家无别。这种和谐的气氛，源于同学之间充分的交流。在这里，我看到了伙伴们最随意的一面，有人因为物理考试忧愁地躺在走廊上，有人和男友分手后蓬头垢面，有人练习跳水后伤痕累累；首先我认为一个中国学生不会让访问学生看到这样的场景，我们更多的是想展示好的一面；其次，纵然有这些不愉快的时刻，她们也能在伙伴的鼓励与帮助中度过，因此依然给我留下了积极阳光的印象——每周一次的寝室会议中，每个人轮流讲最近开心的和不开心的事，无论是分享快乐还是分担忧愁，都让她们变得更加亲近。相比之下，我们学校的寝室更偏向一个住所。在寝室里，我帮选修语文的伙伴改过作文，也和她们一起看电影，一起为考试复习，这样近地接触，融入她们的生活，才有了别样的乐趣。

我想，在这个善于接纳的国家中，人们正是用沟通取得了更多的进步，而他们真诚的待客方式，也让这个国家变得更具吸引力。

— 陈思霖（高一B班）

这次有幸参加Global Understanding 前往美国北卡去体验美国的生活, 使我受益匪浅. 这次的经历与以往去美国旅游截然不同. 之前去美国是不停的去各种有名的景点观看奇景等, 但是这次能深刻的体会到美国高中生的生活. 到了同学家里, 实实在在的体会了美国人的热情. 同学Mia的爸爸妈妈带我去了许多好玩的地方. 这张照片是在一个海边的一个照相馆拍的. 我从来都没有拍这种照片的经历, 对服装和道具也感到十分新奇. 拍完之后她妈妈还时不时的向我确认我爸妈不会介意他们把我打扮成这番模样. 下面一张照片是我们拍完照之后在一个商场里面的电影院的入口. 我们看了一场非常有趣的喜剧片. 让我惊讶的是, 在碰到好笑或者有趣的场景时, 美国人会大声的笑出来, 即使在安静的电影院就自己一个人觉得好笑. 想想在中国, 要不是一片哄笑, 就是咯咯的轻声笑, 从未听过如此爽朗的笑声. 我想这与文化背景有着极大的关系吧.

— 寿仪琳（高一D班）

The trip I took to North Carolina is definitely one of the best experiences in my life.

Apart from the 12-hour-flight, the rest part of the whole trip is entirely enjoyable. It impresses me a lot when we arrive in Raleigh two students and a teacher had been waiting there to welcome us. And when we reached North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, all the students’ warm welcome touched me a lot, distracting my mind from the pain of the flight. I stayed up till 3 a.m. because all the smart stuff and friendly people in the hall filled me up with energy.

And I spend the next a couple of days studying in the school with my friend Lukas, experiencing the life as a normal American high school student. I’m surprised at their supreme skills at science and math. And meanwhile, my previous doubts about the school life in the USA were all swept away. For instance, before this trip, I always wonder how long they will have to do for homework. And the answer is astonishing: they’ve got to do homework till 2 or 3 in the morning. However, the reason why it took so long is absolutely not the huge quantity of the homework, but low concentration on their work. Another special feature I’ve got to mention about the school is that the study here cost nothing! It’s completely free, to eat, to take showers, to live in dorms and to study. I think NCSSM is the really the great example for all the Chinese high schools to learn from.

Also, I’ve got to say thanks to my friend, Lukas and his sisters, Maggie and Grace, his parents Mr. and Mrs. O’Daniel, that gave me such a great chance to feel the local culture and people in Raleigh. Lukas took me to local high school basketball game and I’ve got to confess it’s the best live game I’ve ever seen because of the all the booming dunks and the buzzer beater. And his parents took me to a local Bruno music concert. Though there are only three kids there, I did enjoy the friendly atmosphere there. For the meals, they’ve prepared a lot of special American food, adding a lot of fun to my trip.

Before arriving in America, I held quite high expectations about the things there. And this trip never disappointed me. I will always keep this wonderful experience as one of the best memories I have.

—  林文飞（高一C班）

今年寒假我怀着激动地心情来到北卡数理高中，在为期十天的访问中令我印象最深的便是美国自由创新的人文精神。北卡数理高中是美国最好的公立高中之一，毫无疑问这里的学习生活是很有竞争压力的，我的partner常常写作业写到十一二点，而早上又很早起来。与中国高中不同的是这里的作业常常以让学生自主研究的论文为主，而不是一味地刷题。学校给学生提供了许许多多的研究机会以及自主创新的平台，我的一个室友将来想学习化学，我跟她一起参观了学校最顶级的化学研究室，其中的设备都很高级，学生可以申请到各种自己实验需要用到的器材。其中我更全面的了解到如何做一项研究，在此之前实验和自主研究是一件离我非常遥远的事情，然而这也是对一门科目学习不可缺少的一部分。总的来说这次访问给了我寒假另一个课题研究很多灵感，令我受益匪浅。

— 杨星仪（高一D班）

美国给我印象最深的是“先进”两字，而北卡数理高中优秀教育囊括起来是“自由”。正是由这种自由的教育环境造就了这种先进的，有活力的社会，从而在世界遥遥领先。从他们学生生活说起，其实他们并没有如此的繁忙，虽然白天有很多课但放学很早，之后就完全自由——没有晚自修没有寝室熄灯时间，校园网供应到凌晨一点。不排除有不少学生浪费了不少时间在低效率的做功课和玩游戏上，但事实是他们都十分自觉，没有人沉迷于玩乐，正是这种自由的氛围激发了他们的激情与潜能，他们把时间用于研究探索自己擅长而喜爱的领域：有研究制造火箭的专家，有戴着谷歌眼镜的编程员，有放学后在操场练习跨栏的运动健将……我想最重要的原因不是他们的条件(因为探索这些不可能总有学校无时不刻的帮助，何况只要想做一定能想出办法)，不是他们的勤奋（勤奋只是表面的，一定有内在的原因）也不是应为他们的基础（在这点上中国初中毕业学生绝对不会落后），而是他们自由的环境和无限的热枕，尽管我们不提倡像他们那样没有规律的睡眠，但是他们的钻研精神和充足的时间与空间是我们应该学习的。

对比中国的学校，对于那些很多高考体制下的学生，他们花了太多的时间在制定的功课中，以至于失去了更好的时间与机会，对于我们这批剑桥的学生，我们不能避免花大量时间在英语学习上，不过，这只是环境的劣势，不代表不可以优化，也不代表在这之下我们不能自我优化。一方面，我觉得这里学校的作业可以减少重复，优化冗长而效率不高的课程，尽一切努力增加学生自由的时间，另外要开放学校的设施，不要让实验室成为摆设，让学校所有的设施尽可能地变得开放，之后应该引导激发学生自我发展的激情，而不是让时间荒废在游戏和刷动态上。杭外拥有如此好的师生和硬件设施，我们理应慢慢向美国的自由式精英教育靠拢，让学生尽可能地解放出来，不仅学生会成为各领域顶尖的精英，有些问题也会迎刃而解。就像如果一个进取的学生可以自由使用电脑的话，他不会将时间浪费掉，而被题海压着的学生沉迷于玩乐倒是非常有可能的。教育应该迎刃，遵守大道。

— 虞挺（高一D班）

之前也去过美国许多次，但这次的经历还是让我感觉非常新鲜，因为它让我真切地感受到了美国生活的精髓——家庭。虽然在这十天的旅程里，我只在我的小伙伴家里住了三天，但是当我在回程的飞机上睡不着时，回到家里翻照片时，甚至是与同学“炫耀”时，印象最深的还是那三天。

在学校等她爸爸来接我们时，我还挺紧张的，毕竟时第一次住在一个不同国籍的人家里，所有的一切在被赋予着不同文化背景的时候似乎都变得陌生而遥远了，而我对这一切又是那么的好奇。她的家是一幢在森林里的大房子，刚刚进屋的时候我可是强忍着没有惊呼出来。（尴尬）房子很大，装修也是很经典的美式风格。我当时以为是走进了一个上流社会人的家里，后来躺在床上才想起来之前在美国也去过这样的大房子，意识到，不同于中国，美国地广人稀，房子和土地都是“大号”的。

我的小伙伴金发碧眼，长得像个洋娃娃，但是个字直逼一米八，而且非常喜欢运动。为了学校的环境课题，我们，和她家的狗狗，去附近的森林公园里远足。北卡的冬天很暖和，抬头是让人窒息的湛蓝的蓝天，在国内春节前夕雾霾天气的突袭下，突然感受到在这里的蓝天下大口呼吸空气沐浴阳光其实是件多么奢侈的事情。

住家期间，我们一起去看了一场演出，是一个许多 a cappella 团队的演唱会。这是一种又纯人声演唱的形式，没有伴奏，但是因为一个团队里有许多成员，他们可以唱出伴奏的感觉。从来没有听过这样的演出的我，感觉很震撼。震撼于他们的多才多艺，震撼于他们对音乐的享受和沉浸。当晚我就买了一些乐团的cd, 也想把这种新颖带回国给大家感受感受。

其实，在美国的经历，在短短的几百个字里是说不清道不明的。学校的这个项目开创了一种先例，作为第一批实践的人中的一员，我感觉到了这种经历的价值。大概就像玛芬蛋糕一样，吃的时候的享受，让人在再次看到它的样子的时候，迫切地想要再品尝一遍。

期待与她们的再次相见。

—  应子严（高二A班）

个人觉得去北卡的日子真的好短好短，好像一下子就过去了，但却又真的是一段短暂却又无比美好的经历。记得刚下飞机，仅仅是望着满天闪烁的星星，呼吸着新鲜的空气，就突然觉得很感动。我觉得这次旅行最重要的一点是经历，无论是感受美国的学校生活也好还是家庭生活也好。北卡数理高中真的是一个很不错的学校，特别喜欢它的建筑风格，旧旧的、小小的，很精致。里面估计有一半学生是亚洲人，所以特别亲切，甚至交了好几个会说中国话的朋友。不得不提的是，他们这里的学校生活真的其实很辛苦，有时凌晨还在刷作业。后来和小伙伴一起回家，体验了一把美国中产阶级的安逸生活，和他们一家呆在一起，气氛特别融洽，很开心。在住家的日子里，他们带我出去逛街、游览了那边的几个景点，还带我去教堂做礼拜……啊啊，现在回想起来，真的好希望什么时候能再回到北卡去。

—  胡天钰（高一A班）

It was a really unforgettable trip for me to travel to North Carolina.

This is my first time to America and I was really excited the moment the plane touched down at the runway of San Francisco International Airport. I have to say that there was such a big difference between America and China; a developed country was so different from a developing country. In the dormitory, the room was decorated according to one’s interest and the facilities were much more advanced compared to my dormitory in China. There were refrigerators, printers, and rugs in the rooms. Due to the different education systems, there was Wi-Fi everywhere in the school campus and life there was like the life in the universities in China. Students had their own schedule and lives.

The families in America were also different from my family. Meals were simple; the big events were staying together, having fun and communicating with each other. My partner’s sister was in a robotics team and I was totally overwhelmed by the project they were focusing on. It was great inspiration to me as I was also in the robotics team. I also went to learn swing dance, which was a new thing for me. It brought me closer to American culture, too.

I have to say: America was AMAZING!!

(I was holding a snake at a friend of my partner’s home)

— 王星圣（高一B班）

这个寒假，我非常荣幸地体验了纯正的美国高中教育和生活。在学校将近1周的时间里，我了解到了很多，也学到了很多。美国学生的学业负担很重，凌晨2点，当我洗漱完毕准备睡觉时，我的小伙伴依然还在为他的作业而奋斗。为了考试，他们有时候就整晚不休息的复习。

学校非常注重对学生特长的培养，在和几个好友聊天过程中，他们告诉我，不管多高的要求，学校都能满足你。比如，学校专门为一名数学特长的学生请了杜克大学的数学教授。

美国学生的课后生活很丰富，他们在各种各样的社团中寻找自己的角色。小伙伴是音乐剧的负责人，每周二、四都会进行带妆彩排。美国学生很开放，他们用拥抱来表达友好，不分男女，情侣秀恩爱也是很常见的事情，也许这就是文化的差异吧。这次旅行真的很开心，开了眼界，很难用文字去表达！

—  郑扬弋（高一D班）

This winter vacation me and my fellow classmates went to the North Carolina School Of Science And Mathematics, AKA NCSSM, under currently running program named Global Understanding. We went there with the identity of exchange students and lived in the campus with our nice and warm-hearted host students for a week and also made the most of the weekend feeling the American living style. By sharing the different experience with students there and my host family, i felt that our peers there live a life they like, which is varied among different people. My partner has a bunch of things to learn and also a lot of activities to attend, which seems unimaginable to me because they are so exhausting but he still enjoyed them all and managed to live a colorful life. My roommates also do the same as my host Gabe does. Some of them would spend nights by nights sitting in front of a computer and typing code for programs, some of them would remorselessly go to a nearby university for swimming every day for three hours, some of them would spend all of their free time to write a hundred thousand words novel and dedicate it to his little brother. And these are just those examples showing how a well-round life they are living. Most of the students there seems like they have found something they are interested in and they really have the enthusiasm for it and they would just go for it. This something that really inspired me, enthusiasm. I am really moved by their passion and effort given to the things they like and this is what i am lacking of and i would like to improve myself for.

—  李锦浩（高一B班）

自回到祖国母亲的怀抱之后，所有人看到我后的第一句话就是：“你去了感觉怎么样啊？”而我的回答总是带着一种羡慕嫉妒恨的语气。说实话，和美国学生相比，我们简直受到了“非人”的待遇。我们的招待所都还不如他们的宿舍，但离我所羡慕的还不是这些硬件条件。我们作为祖国的花朵，是实实在在地享受到了温室，被圈养起来（杭外算是放养—起码还有那套书单，那部微电影）。而美国的学生却是真真地野生品种，没有熄灯时间，没有起床时间，一切靠的都是自律和身体本能反应—累了总是要睡觉的。我们受到了精心的呵护，美国人受到了欲望的考验，末了野生的或许总是会比养殖的好吃。

— 林瑞星（高一A班）

这次北卡一行，体会最深的还是两国迥然不同的学习与生活方式。首先，美国学校对于学生带电脑这件事是完全放开的。令我惊奇的是，北卡数理高中的同学完全可以在电脑这种难以抵抗的诱惑面前依然选择认真学习，至少接待我的同学，Hannah，是有非常认真地在寝室中自修的。这样的自我控制能力让我自愧不如。其次，他们对于体育锻炼非常地重视。Hannah一周有几天会抽出一个多小时的时间锻炼身体。这也是我所需要学习的。

— 程诗杰（高一A班）

对北卡数理高中的访问是一次让人难忘的经历，因为我们近距离体验了美国高中学生的学习生活，也在交流和合作研究的过程中获得了友情。虽然文化背景和思维方式的不同有时会让沟通显得有些困难，比如在中国是习惯性的一个肢体动作会让他们觉得我们想表达某种高深的意思，但我们一直都试着去尊重并理解对方的想法，这也就是global understanding的意义所在。

— 童心玥（高二C班）