Though students attending the class haven't been selected yet, Leena said, "I hope I can be there. If I get to ask the president a question, I want to know how nerve-raking it can be to be a president of such a big country."

Leaving the classroom, she rushed to the auditorium for a chorus rehearsal. Dozens of students are going to sing the English song What a Wonderful World and the Chinese song In the Field of Hopes for the visiting president.

Leena and her fellow students have been practicing singing in Chinese for two weeks under the instruction of a Chinese teacher. "The language is fascinating. I'm always interested in the Chinese characters," said the bi-lingual Leena, who can speak Spanish, too.

"It's cool to learn a third language that is so different," she said, adding that she was considering learning Chinese in college.

Among the singers are five Chinese students who came from the Affiliated High School of the Fuzhou Institute of Education.

Their school signed a memorandum of understanding with Lincoln in 2008 to promote faculty, student, cultural and sports exchanges. Since then, professional exchanges have been made by teachers of the Chinese school and Lincoln, as well as officials of the Tacoma school district.