At Sonoran Trails Middle School, TCLP Chinese Teacher Alumna Li Qiong received a grant to lay the foundation for a sister school connection between her host school in Arizona and her home school in Hubei, China. Sonoran Trails Principal Bill Dolezal traveled to China as a first time visitor with Li, who developed an itinerary with a travel company in China that allowed Principal Dolezal to meet with Chinese Principal Wang at her home school, No. 6 Middle School of Yichang. Li attended and facilitated the signing of sister school documents and served as Principal Dolezal’s tour guide during the trip. By obtaining personal buy-in from both principals, these two very different places were able to converge somewhere in the middle, giving students a real-life reason for studying Chinese (to be able to communicate with their sister school peers), and opening doors for future student, teacher and school leaders exchanges.