His mother didn't want him to go. His friends thought China was just scary. 他的母親不想讓他去。他的朋友們認為中國十分恐怖。
Six months on though, 16-year-old Spencer Langerman is getting the full dose of China 101. 不過，六個月以來，十六歲的史賓塞‧蘭格曼完整地吸收了中國的初體驗。
Definitely, my friends and family like, when I came they were like, 當然我的朋友和家人都……我要來的時候他們會說
don't let the Chinese brainwash you like into communism and like, they kind of...the censorship. 「不要被中國共產主義把你洗腦了」這類的話，還有像是……思想審查。
People are still saying that to you? 大家現在還會跟你這麼說嗎？
Yeah. 是啊。
The boy from Manhattan now sits in the shadow of Chairman Mao. 這位來自曼哈頓的男孩現在離毛主席很近。
Spencer learns the Communist Party's version of Chinese history. 史賓塞在學習共產黨版本的中國歷史。
He speaks only Chinese in class -- he's fluent -- sometimes now, even better than English. 他在課堂上只能說中文，說得很流利，現在有時候甚至說得比英文好。
It's all part of this unique program. 這是一項特殊計畫的一部分。
Take a kid out of American school, 把一個小孩從美國的學校帶出來，
put them in a regular Chinese classroom and place them with a Chinese family for one year. 放到一般的中國的教室裡，並且安置在中國家庭中一年。
Spencer is one of nearly 50 American teenagers 史賓塞只是將近五十位美國青少年的其中一人，
here building a bridge between the world's superpower and its fast-emerging rival. 他們在此為這個世界強國及其快速竄起的對手之間建立溝通的橋樑。
I think the opinion of China in the United States is really kind of off. And a lot of the idea[s] of China is [are] kind of flawed. 我認為美國對中國的看法真的有點不符現況，很多對於中國的想法不太對。
There're a lot of thoughts about, like, China's kind of backwards [backward] and really rural and like, not modern -- and obviously, that's wrong. 有很多人覺得，譬如說中國有點落後或真的很鄉下、不現代——顯然這是錯的。
I mean, we're here in this, like, super-modern city. 我是說，我們就身在這個可說是超級現代化的都市裡。
Spencer tells me he always thought China was cool. Living here hasn't changed that. 史賓塞告訴我他一直覺得中國很酷，住在這裡並沒有改變這種想法。
The Chinese kids, he says, are just like Americans. 他說中國的小孩就像美國小孩。
They love sports. He says they kick his butt on the basketball court. 他們熱愛運動。他說他們在籃球場上痛宰了他。
They like western movies and music. But in the classroom, that's where the differences begin. 他們喜歡西洋電影和音樂。但是，在課堂上，差異就開始浮現了。
Their approach to education is really a lot...they just memorize, memorize, memorize; study, study, study. 他們的教育方法真的有很多……他們就一直死背、死背、死背，讀書、讀書、讀書。
And I feel like they're not really...they don't like have discussions. 我覺得他們真的沒有……他們不喜歡討論。
It hasn't all been easy. Like any kid, he gets homesick, and then there was moving in with a new family. 來這裡當交換學生有時並不好過。像任何小孩一樣，史賓塞會想家，而且還要搬進去和新的家庭同住。
He's right at home now, though, happily chatting at the dinner table like any family. 不過他現在已經很自在了，可以像其他家庭一樣在餐桌上閒聊。
His surrogate Chinese parents never graduated from high school and work in a local market. 他的中國代理父母中學沒畢業，在當地市場工作。
They live in a modest apartment, small in size, but big on hospitality. 他們住在一間簡樸的公寓裡，房子雖小，卻有大大的熱情好客。
And Spencer has a 13-year-old host brother who teases like all little brothers. 史賓塞還有一位寄宿家庭的十三歲兄弟，就像所有的弟弟一樣愛尋他開心。
And he's teaching his big brother a lesson in Chinese chess. 他正在教他的哥哥象棋。
Spencer hasn't yet won a game, but each move, 史賓塞還沒有贏過一盤棋，但是他希望每走一步，
he hopes, brings his homeland of the United States and his adopted home, China, that much closer. 都能讓他的祖國美國和接納他的居地中國拉近那麼一點距離。