A Lebanese student plays a musical instrument for Chinese students through a video call at Lycee Francais International Elite de Tyr in Lebanon, April 10, 2019. The Chinese troops with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) organized the first online communication session between students in Lebanon and China on Wednesday. The activity was conducted between students at Lycee Francais International Elite de Tyr and a school in Huizhou city in south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Meng Zhuolin)
BEIRUT, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese troops with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) organized the first online communication session between students in Lebanon and China on Wednesday.
The activity was conducted between students at Lycee Francais International Elite de Tyr and a school in Huizhou city in south China's Guangdong Province.
The students in the two schools introduced themselves to each other over a video call connecting Lebanon and China.
The Lebanese students introduced themselves to their Chinese friends using the Chinese language.
Also, students from both schools performed national traditional dances in addition to singing and playing musical instruments.
Hade Abed Ali, an 11-year-old boy, recited a poem in Arabic which was later translated to English for it to be understood by his Chinese friends in Huizhou.
Two boys from the school in Huizhou performed the Chinese martial arts.
Roa Abboud, executive director at Lycee Francais International Elite de Tyr, explained that students at her school began to learn Chinese with the UNIFIL starting December last year aiming at introducing Lycee's students to the Chinese culture and traditions.
She told Xinhua that the project started with two small groups with 17 students each, but now around five groups with 17 students each are learning the Chinese language.
Abboud said that the children and their families are very happy and ask for more such courses at Lycee, adding that her school will be the first in the south to include the Chinese language in its curriculum.
Abboud added that students took around 15 sessions of the Chinese language so far and they are already able to speak.
She noted that students showed great excitement to learn Chinese because it is a completely new culture that is totally different from French or Spanish for instance.
Youssef Basma, an 11-year-old student, said he dreams of speaking Chinese fluently.
"I love the Chinese culture. I would love to go to China and learn more about the country," he said.
