Days 8 and 9: AIS and Tien Shan Schools

 At the AIS and Tien Shan Schools, we were fortunate enough to experience a melting pot of diverse cultures that had previously been inaccessible to us. Coming from a traditional private school environment, we often see an assortment of different racial backgrounds, but rarely do we come face to face with a diverse array of nationalities. On our first day, we visited American International School (AIS), where we experienced a “day in the life” with a typical international student. Highlights for us included visiting a yurt classroom, playing capture the flag in PE, meeting with the student leadership team, and engaging in some interactive games with the students (including Dance Revolution). While we were struck with the robust academic curriculum that was taught, as it was similar to that of Poly, we were especially impressed by the various activities and extracurriculars that were consistent with many of our own personal experiences halfway across the globe. Yesterday, on our second day of direct school visits, we visited Ms. Bocquin’s former school, Tien Shan International. While our visit was a “homecoming” for Ms. Bocquin, we, the students, were struck by the compassion and commitment to excellence that the school embodied and displayed. We were welcomed, played games together, sat in on Russian, Chem, Bio and a very lively Physics class. Even though both international schools were significantly smaller than Poly, we were able to meet with kids from over 20 different nationalities from 6 continents (excluding Antarctica). Through our countless conversations, interactions, and competitions, we had intimate interactions with all of the students with whom we met. For instance, Nick Gomez and Justin Wang partook in a friendly “2v2” basketball matchup with two Kazakh students who had been looking forward to it all week. Although there was an obvious competitive aura in the gym, the spirit of sportsmanship and respect triumphed.  After school yesterday, several Tien Shan students joined us for dinner at a local Korean restaurant. This swath of the Silk Road is well-renowned for its diversity; in terms of cuisines, here is a taste of what we’ve enjoyed Kazakh, Uyghur, Uzbek, Georgian, Korean, Russian, Chinese, and even American food.

• Nick, Sam, Sanjay