Chen-Lun “Jackal” Lin, from the YMCA in Taipei, Taiwan, rides a bike during a spin class Tuesday March 31, 2009, as part of a group from China Medical University and YMCA Taipei who visited the Butler YMCA in March 2009. Butler Eagle File Photo

Fourteen international students studied with trainers and instructors for a week at the Butler YMCA in March and April 2009.

Most of the students were from China Medical University, and three were from YMCA Taipei in Taiwan. For many of the students, this was their first trip to the United States. The students arrived March 29 and visited the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA in Cranberry Township and Slippery Rock University.

The exchange program started when Sandy Ihlenfeld, the YMCA’s senior physical director at the time, coordinated the trip with students from Taipei. Ihlenfeld made connections while she twice visited Taipei as an international trainer.