A few weeks ago my family and I excitedly greeted Sherry for the first time. Sherry is a Year 10 Chinese student from the beautiful city of Shanghai, and she had come to Melbourne as part of the MGGS China Exchange program. As her host family for the week, we had planned a full itinerary of Aussie adventures – as much as we could squeeze into the short time. Nervously, we waited to meet Sherry, what would this Chinese girl be like? What if she disliked me? What if we didn't get along?

My nervousness vanished in that instant because I realised this lovely girl, Sherry, was even more nervous than I! My mum stepped forward and gave Sherry a hug. "Welcome to Melbourne", she said.

Sherry told us about her life in China. She lived with her parents in an apartment not far from the city central. Like all young people of her generation in Shanghai, Sherry has no siblings and I was surprised to learn that she was a self-confessed "computer nerd" and enjoyed listening to pop ballads with a melancholy melody. We swapped stories about our school, friends, clothes, movies and boys. I bombarded Sherry with questions about life in a Chinese high school and was astounded to hear that the teachers had to wear a school uniform too!

That Sunday, we took Sherry to Healesville Sanctuary to see the native Australian animals. Sherry absolutely loved it and her favourite animals were the koalas. On Monday, Sherry came to MGGS and joined in some of the classes. High school in Melbourne is very different to high school in China, and I listened with fascination as Sherry told me that her classes in Shanghai held 50-60 students each!

Tuesday, my family held an Aussie barbeque for dinner and made Pavlova for dessert. Sherry had never eaten Pavlova before and she absolutely loved it. After dinner, we all drove to St Kilda Pier and strolled along the beach. It was a windy day but the breeze on our faces was both fresh and invigorating.

It was with some sadness that we waved goodbye to Sherry. This experience had given me many wonderful memories and my friendship with Sherry helped me develop a better understanding of Chinese culture and society. Before she left, Sherry invited me to visit her if I ever travelled to China. We agreed to keep in touch and update each other on the events in our lives.

This is one of the most fun and rewarding experiences my family and I have done, and I recommend it to everyone. I can't wait to travel to Shanghai in the near future.

On behalf of the LOTE Department, I would like to thank the MGGS families for their warm, friendly and generous hospitality shown to our Chinese visitors during their stay in Melbourne.

Mr Wei Min Fang