The World from PRX

Each Summer Thousands of Chinese Students Head to Camp in the US

The two victims tragically killed in the Asiana airplane crash in San Francisco were teen students from China on their way to summer camp in the US. Thousands of Chinese students make the trek each summer to attend camps here.

Arts, Culture & Media
MWMarco Werman

Students of the Jiangshan Middle School light candles to form a heart shape and initials (below), of the victims Yang Mengyuan and Wang Linjia of the Asiana Airlines crash, in Quzhou, Zhejiang province July 8, 2013. The Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed at San Francisco’s international airport was flying 25 percent below its intended air speed before slamming into the ground, U.S. safety officials said on Monday as attention increasingly focused on the actions of the pilots. The two victims, Ye and Wang were friends from the Jiangshan Middle School in Quzhou. Picture taken July 8, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA – Tags: DISASTER TRANSPORT EDUCATION) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA – RTX11H9H

REUTERS

They were just teenagers and on their way to summer camp halfway around the world.

Wang Linjia and Ye Mengyuan were killed over the weekend when the Asiana plane that crashed at San Francisco Airport.

For any parent who’s anxiously dropped off the kids at camp, it’s gut wrenching.

Wang and Ye were just two of thousands of Chinese students headed abroad each year to go to summer camps here in the US.

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Steve Haines who directs Horizons USA, an immersion summer camp for foreign students including many Chinese students.