First Lady Michelle Obama urged students to visit China at the "100,000 Strong" China Study Abroad forum at Howard University in 2011. President Barack Obama announced the "100,000 Strong" Initiative   during his 2009 visit to China. The program aims to increase and diversify the number of American students studying in China by making studying abroad more affordable. During the event at Howard, Mrs. Obama spoke about the importance of studying abroad, something she never did while in college. "Studying in countries like China is about so much more than just improving your own prospects  in the global market. The fact is that with every friendship you make and every bond of trust you establish you are shaping an image of America projected to the rest of the world," she said. David Marzban from Pepperdine University recalled a time when he formed a cross-cultural bond with a complete stranger at a restaurant near Fudan University in Shanghai. He noticed a young chef signaling him to come over. "He presses the play button on his media player and starts singing 'California Dreaming' and wants me to sing along with him," Marzban said. "At this time I knew a great friendship had started during my first two weeks in China." Nicole Baden, a senior communications major at Howard University, recalled how her time in China really helped her master the language. "You have to experience the culture while learning the language to really master it and to understand why things are how they are compared to your own culture," Baden said. Mrs. Obama encouraged students to set aside concept that studying abroad is for rich kids only or for those attending certain schools. In addition, the first lady announced that the Chinese government is giving 10,000 "Bridge Scholarships" to cover costs for American students and teachers studying in China. Students from several schools attended the forum. 12-year-old Sarah Davis, who studied in China last summer, said she was very excited to hear Michelle Obama talk about the country. "I love Chinese. Out of all the languages I've learned, Chinese is the most difficult and interesting," she said. What can we infer from the passage?
Baden came to China to study the differences between English and Chinese. Poor children from America have no opportunity to study in China. David Marzban made a Chinese friend in an unexpected way in China. Michelle Obama called on US students to study in China at a government meeting.