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Lakes International Language Academy (LILA) a charter school, and Forest Lake High School hosted 25 Chinese high school students and their chaperones February 2-9 for an exchange of culture, language, and friendship.

Forest Lake Area School District 831 and LILA, share a unique working relationship and common interest in language education. They collaborated on the visitors' itinerary with guidance from the trip's organizer, Mr. Tongwu Tang, Director of The World and Chongqing Exchange, which is part of the Center for Foreign Affairs in China. LILA hosted an opening reception for the delegation February 2. The Chinese students spent time during the week modeling their native language for the elementary students at LILA, which offers Chinese language classes in addition to its Spanish-immersion focus.

"We're very excited to welcome the delegates to LILA," said Sally Du, one of the Chinese Language instructors at LILA. "Our parents have already volunteered to share some Minnesotan culture, including ice fishing. The visit should be a fun learning experience for their students-and ours."

The delegation's tour included shadowing students at Forest Lake High School, attending high school sports events, touring the University of Minnesota campus, and shopping at the Mall of America.

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