Massachusetts International Academy

On Friday, May 4 and Monday, May a class of MAIA students traveled to Boston with a group of students from Shrewsbury High School. Xin Xin, the Shrewsbury High School teacher, had arranged for a fun afternoon for the group in Chinatown. The first stop was a small convenience store selling Chinese trinkets and souvenirs. As the group wandered around the store MAIA students explained to the Americans the significance of the various items. Then the group went to a Chinese cafe and herbal shop. There the students observed how traditional medicine is measured and packaged. In the cafe students ordered sweet rolls, buns, and bubble tea. Finally there was a quick tour of a Chinese market where students purchased noodle packets and iced tea. The MAIA students tried to get the Shrewsbury High School students to try Chinese fruits and spicy sauces, but with very little success. The afternoon concluded with lunch at a Chinese restaurant. The students sat together and spoke a mixture of English and Chinese while enjoying a delicious meal of tea, fried rice, noodles, egg rolls, vegetarian dumplings, and assorted Chinese pastries. The Americans enjoyed trying the new cuisine and learning the names of all of the foods. These two trips provided MAIA students with a fantastic opportunity to not only practice their English, but to also interact with American high school students. MAIA is excited about its developing relationship with Shrewsbury High School’s Chinese program, and looks forward to more cross-cultural trips in the future!

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On Sunday a group of 10 students joined Justin and Zach for a canoeing trip in on the Nashua River in Groton, MA. Since it was the first time in a canoe for all of the students, the group spent the first part of the afternoon learning how to paddle and steer their boats. After they had mastered the basics, the students were free to paddle around the surrounding area for the remainder of the afternoon. The students had a great time exploring the main channel of the beautiful Nashua and enjoying the warm, sunny day. Since there are not many opportunities for this type of experience in China, the trip turned out to be the perfect event for getting MAIA students more interested in and excited about nature and outdoor activities. With the summer approaching and the weather getting warmer, keep an eye out for flyers  advertising more hiking and canoeing trips.

A large number of alumni returned to campus Saturday, April 28 for MAIA’s first ever Alumni Day. The day was a huge success, reuniting staff with MAIA graduates and connecting current students with alumni. We would like to thank the alumni who returned to campus, as well as the various departments and staff members who worked so hard to make this day happen.

The day began with a welcome back brunch, during which staff and current students ate and chatted with alumni. Student Advisors and teachers caught up with the grads, while new students were given the opportunity to meet the alumni. Brunch was followed by a panel discussion. Three former students–Julie Zhu of UMB, Belinda Yang of UMA, and Ty Zhang of UML–fielded questions from MAIA’s current student body about college, classes, and life after MAIA. After the panel, students, alumni, and staff headed outside to enjoy the nice weather while playing basketball, tennis, football, and volleyball, and eating heaping ice cream sundaes.

At the conclusion of the afternoon, everyone returned indoors to feast on a delicious spread of barbecued meats, shrimp skewers, corn on the cob, eggplant, watermelon, chocolate covered strawberries, and a strawberry whip cream cake. At the end of the BBQ on lucky alumna won a $50 gift card to the Red Pepper in Framingham. Again, thank you to everyone who participated in this fun day! We hope it is the first of many such events!

Whether you spent spring break travelling around the United States, hanging out in Boston, or participating in the many MAIA-run activities, we hope last week was enjoyable for everyone! A special thank you to all of the students who stayed at MAIA and went on all of the trips throughout the week. [full story]

This Saturday (April 28) is a day students–past and present–and staff have been looking forward to for a long time: Alumni Day! All current and former students are invited and encouraged to spend Saturday hanging out at MAIA. [full story]

If you’re leaving campus this spring break, enjoy your travels! For those of you who are staying at MAIA for the break, have no fear of being bored! Next week is filled with numerous fun activities that will be taking place on and off campus. [full story]

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