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evolution, and archaeology, respectively. The rest of your time can be spent as you wish, unless there is a required excursion or event. We will discuss that when we finish explaining your grades.”
    “You will notice from your handout,” Mark continued, “each of your four classes makes up twenty percent of your grade. The remaining twenty percent comes from a team project.”
    Cece glanced at the paper Kallyn was holding. It detailed everything hour by hour, the locations of the rooms, the teachers, and a summary of how their grades would be calculated.
    “The program is entirely pass/fail,” Mark said. “Your grades across subjects are tabulated together. If your average falls below seventy, you do not pass, and you do not receive college credit. Seventy or above, and you’re a go. Astound us with something much better than that, and we send you home with a certificate commending your achievements for your parents, and we’ll give you recommendations to the university of your choice.”
    Cece listened closely. Any opportunity to get a leg up for college was one she was going after.
    “You may be wondering what your team projects are all about,” Mark went on. “Let us show you an example from last year’s group.”
    The lights dimmed as a screen came down from overhead. Opening credits appeared, titling the film: The Great Wall: Years in the Making. An American teenager dressed in a spectacularly ill-fitting royal costume spoke Chinese to a crowd of students. Subtitles ran across the bottom of the screen as the film explained how the walls were constructed and how techniques differed from dynasty to dynasty. The students acted it out by first hauling dirt across the set, then bricklike stones, and eventually giant, fat boulders. They also portrayed different leaders of the times, instructing workers to tear down or rebuild the walls to suit their needs. The acting was over the top, but the movie was extremely informative at the same time.
    At the film’s conclusion, the audience clapped.
    “That was pretty corny,” Kallyn whispered.
    “No kidding,” Cece replied. “But the students really seemed to have a handle on their Chinese. It must have taken them weeks to get that down.”
    “Well, maybe I can be the cameraman,” Kallyn said.
    “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Cece replied.
    “As you can see,” Jenny said when the lights came on, “you will be making a documentary. This film should address subject matter from at least two of your courses while focused on one specific topic. And you are also encouraged to make it fun.”
    “That’s right,” Mark said. “Anthropology doesn’t have to be dry and boring. Now, if you turn over your handout, you’ll see a calendar of our excursions.”
    Kallyn flipped the paper over.
    “To give everyone time to get comfortable with classes, we’ll take our first outing at the end of the program’s second week. We’ll begin with the major destinations within the city, such as the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, and the City Walls. Then the following week, we’ll see the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, located just outside of Xi’an. Right before midterms, we’ll take our big trip to Beijing for the must-see Great Wall and Forbidden City, and when we get back, things will calm down, with a few smaller trips to local museums. This way, you have time to prepare for final exams in your classes and complete your team projects.
    “Now, one last thing about your free time here. We expect you to spend it as any college student would—however you like—but that means you will also need to be extremely self-directed to stay on task. We’re cramming an entire semester’s worth of classes into nine weeks, so things move fast here. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.”
    Next Jenny introduced the faculty, four professors who took turns at the podium and discussed their classes and their expectations of the students. Two of them were adjunct professors from