After a week of shared classrooms, campus activities and cross-cultural connection, Egan Junior High School concluded its sister school exchange with students from New Taipei City, Taiwan, with a campus ceremony.
The Jan. 30 celebration, held in the school library, honored 24 visiting students and two administrators and renewed the schools’ relationship with a new Memorandum of Understanding. David Dong, director of the Education Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, attended to present the agreement. For many students, however, the highlight wasn’t the ceremony – it was discovering how much they had in common. Throughout the week, students and staff from Linkou Junior High School participated in daily activities alongside Egan students, who served as buddies and guides. Visiting students shadowed classes, joined electives and experienced a typical American junior high school day.
“It was really cool to see how much in common we have with another country,” eighth grader Tyler Ebbitt told the Town Crier.
For eighth grader Chantal Du, one surprise was how familiar the experience felt. “Their English was pretty good,” Du said, while noting differences in school structure, including fewer elective choices and students remaining in the same classroom throughout the day. Despite those differences, common ground emerged quickly – sometimes in casual moments. Du said students compared everyday school routines during lunch. “They also didn’t exactly enjoy it,” she said.
Language differences became another opportunity for connection rather than a barrier, reflecting the exchange program’s focus on real-world language learning. Du, who speaks some Mandarin, said she tried asking simpler questions and encouraging curiosity.
“I just let them ask me whatever they were curious about,” she said.
Informal shared experiences were especially meaningful. A group visit to the Exploratorium in San Francisco stood out for students from both schools.
“We were both exploring new things; it was really fun,” Du said.
Unstructured moments during the school day also helped students connect.
“The first few days when we just walked around school and stuff, and they kept our classes, I was able to chat with them the most, especially playing with them at lunch,” Ebbitt said.
One cultural exchange moment was universally popular: lunch from In-N-Out Burger. The meal, a specific request from the visiting students who had seen the fast-food chain on social media, was made possible by a parent donor with support from the Egan PTA.
Principal Lisa Taormina said the exchange offers lessons beyond academics.
“You can teach and read out of a textbook,” Taormina said, “but other things you have to experience.”
Hosting students helps build empathy and shared understanding, she added, because “kids are kids; they value their learning, and they value those social interactions and those friendships.”
Taormina said middle school is a key time for language learning. Egan is the only junior high in the district offering Mandarin, and early exposure helps students build confidence and curiosity. “We live in, sometimes, a very sheltered little bubble here in Los Altos, and so for our kids to get outside of that, it’s really important,” she said.
Looking ahead, the school hopes to expand the program with homestays and possibly a spring trip to Taiwan. For students like Du and Ebbitt, the experience has already sparked bigger dreams – including future travel, cultural exploration, and friendships that may last well beyond the exchange.
