old orchard beach — miniature golfing for the first time, a crowd of chinese exchange students giggled when one girl whipped the golf club through so emphatically, the ball sailed out of the course and across the street.

some of her friends jumped back to avoid the slicing swing.

putt-putt technique was not one of the lessons on the agenda this month when education first, an international exchange program with north american headquarters in cambridge, mass., invited 29 chinese teenagers from shanghai and guangvhou to visit the portland area.

the three-week program has been packed with all things maine, from whale-watching tours and lobster dinners to trips to the beach and to blueberry farms...............