What Did You Do This Summer?

This past summer might've followed the routine of attending prep school, volunteering, and working. But looking at another definition of summer has allowed us to learn what Stuyvesant students do outside the routine. We interviewed only a number of students but garnered responses that create a vibrant collage of the summer of 2018.

Victoria Wong, junior

Paris

I went to Paris for a little over a week in early August. On our first day there, my cousin and I climbed the 700-something steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was really tiring but fun and also cheaper than buying elevator tickets. We also went to a chapel called the Sainte-Chapelle. The stained glass windows there were so beautiful, especially since the summer sun was filtering through them.

I went to the Catacombs too, which are part of an underground tunnel system where the bones of dead people have been held and arranged. It was probably the most morbid thing I saw in Paris, but it was interesting. On our last day in France, my family and I drove from Paris to Versailles and toured the Palace and Gardens of Versailles. The Palace is really stunning and luxurious, and the Gardens are filled with pretty flowers and fountain shows.

Michelle Lai, senior

Seattle

No planes were stolen when I arrived at Sea-Tac Airport earlier this summer. This was my first time on the West Coast, and it was probably one of the most relaxing vacations I've ever had. My family and I visited the Space Needle, the infamous tower shown in nearly every iCarly episode, and it was here that my parents yelled at me for leaning against the glass walls located 605 feet above ground.

Seattle is known for its coffee, and I decided that waiting in line for 45 minutes to order a grande iced “whatever” macchiato at the very first Starbucks would be worth it—it was. That Starbucks was located in Pike Place Market, a crowded area full of fresh seafood and cheap bookstores. I left a piece of chewed gum on the Gum Wall in a nearby alley, which was filled with tourists doing the same. The Chinatown there was uncrowded, quiet, and clean compared to the one in New York City, but the dim sum and boba proved to be of equal affordability and deliciousness. Perhaps the best part was just sitting on a ferris wheel and watching the sunset from the highest point as my dad tried to assuage his fear of heights.

Yaru Luo, junior

Quebec

I went to Montréal, Quebec, a downtown urban area similar to New York City, except that the train is much cleaner and faster, and that there’s a mountain in the middle of the city. The mountain is called Mont-Royal, and the view is so stunning that I hiked to the top once in the daylight and once after sunset. I also went to the Montreal Botanical Garden and the Notre-Dame basilica. I learned that the basilica is not a cathedral because the bishop was allegedly kicked out when it was built.

I was recommended this lunch place called Burger Royal, where I tried some delicious poutine. The most amazing part was when I simply went outside and just walked for hours down Saint Catherine’s street; there was a pride festival with rainbow balloons and satirical art everywhere. There’s so much wall art all over Montreal that I was able to watch some street artists at work on one block. I stayed in an Airbnb and was really lucky to have met some super kind people who were my neighbors. Canadians really lived up to their reputation for being kind.

Ian Fried, junior

Vermont

I went to the Stellafane Astronomy Convention in Vermont and took a trip to Bermuda. The astronomy convention is held in Springfield, Vermont and it is a dark sky site. People from around the country come to build telescopes and discuss astronomy with one another and to spend the nights looking up at the Milky Way. [I visited] Crystal Cave, [which] is a cave with many crystals. The cave was mostly filled with beige stalactites and a large underground pool that feeds into the ocean.

I also helped host public stargazing at the Highline and other parks around the city. The most notable person I met at Stellafane was a systems engineer named Mark Sproul, who worked on the Arduino Project source code and was a former professor at Rutgers University. I had the chance to talk to him over the course of four days. He was really smart, and he taught me a lot about how computers generate sounds, mainly those of musical instruments.

Caroline Magoc, junior

Crete, Amsterdam, Slovakia

This year, I was afforded one of the few privileges a divorced family obtains: not one, but two summer vacations—they couldn't have been more different.

With my mom, her boyfriend, and my sister-in-law, we had each day planned out: eight days in Crete, four days in Amsterdam. Each day featured a new activity, a new location in Amsterdam. I went to three museums: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and Rembrandt’s House. After visiting, I became curious; I wanted to know more about the art, the techniques, and the artists. Similarly, hiking and snorkeling in Crete made me eager for more adventure.

With my dad, I experienced a different kind of curiosity, a different sense of adventure. After nine hours of flying, two bus transfers, and a train ride, I ended up in Žilina, Slovakia, the city where he grew up. I met my grandmother, who I hadn't seen for six years. I visited family members, attended a wedding, and most importantly, found some embarrassing pictures of my dad as a teenager. Though my dad and I constantly argue today, I couldn't help but be intrigued by who he once was. It was just as much of an adventure talking to my grandmother, trying to get my message across in a broken Slovak, as it was hiking gorges and discovering obscure networks.

Chris Boodram, junior

Greece

This summer I went to Greece with a tour group. We started in Athens where we went to the acropolis and viewed the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena. It had a very nice view of the hills on one side of the city and then the water on the other side. Throughout the week that I spent there, the most interesting part of the trip was going to the Olympia, where the Olympics originated and got its name from.

It was really amazing to just walk through the ruins of places where star athletes of the time lived and trained, and to stop and think that people back then could accomplish such great physical feats. It also represented the coming together of city-states sponsoring their own athletes, and though it may not have been as cosmopolitan and inclusive as we would like, it was these initial attempts at unity, sportsmanship, and ethic that we praise to this day.

Walking around some lame ruins doesn't really give you that much insight into what it took to be an Olympic athlete back then, but running back and forth across the same field they did really does. I don't consider myself particularly athletic, but I’m no slouch when it comes to athleticism, and let me say running back and forth across that field made me sweat 10 times more than the 95+ degree weather did.

The landscape is very hilly, typical of Greece, a common factor mentioned as to why Greece was inclined toward city-states in ancient times. There were also lots of olive tree groves. The food was okay—my favorite dish was definitely the gyros (either the pork or chicken variation) where they put the fries inside, with tomato and lettuce as well as a yogurt sauce; it tastes amazing, but aside from that, there was some monotony in the food options and the food didn't really suit my palate. An underappreciated part of Europe is its superior soda, being that they have more restrictions; it has actual sugar, and bottled Coke is more popular there so the soda is high quality.

Phoenix Zhang, senior

Japan, studying abroad

I’m so glad I decided to study abroad for a month this summer in Tokyo with CIEE. We stayed at a campus-like center right next to Yoyogi Park and had Japanese classes at the center. We usually had classes in the morning so that we could use the rest of the afternoon to use what we learned in class in the community. On most days, we would have planned activities such as taiko drumming or a tea ceremony. On other days, we would have the afternoon free to ourselves.

We could take the train anywhere as long as we were in groups of at least three people and back by 8:00 p.m. On those days, I often went to Harajuku, Shinjuku, and Akihabara with my friends. We didn’t have classes on Sundays so some of my friends even decided to visit Tokyo Disney Sea! Unfortunately, we were only able to stay with a homestay family for a weekend, but it was an extremely fun experience. I was able to learn a lot about Japanese families.

Toward the end of the program, we left Tokyo and went on an excursion to Tohoku for four days and three nights. We visited several places but the most memorable place for me was Rikuzentakata in Iwate. The city was severely damaged by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011. There aren’t many natural disasters here in New York so being able to see how much damage can be caused was breathtaking. Studying abroad in Tokyo with CIEE was such a valuable experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of studying abroad!

Jenny Zhong, senior

Rome, Italy

In July, I went on a three-week study abroad program in Rome, Italy to learn about art and history. Prior to this program, I had never been outside of the United States, let alone gone on an airplane, so this was a whole new experience for me. The program that I participated in, called Exploring Rome Through the Arts, dealt more with hands-on activities and excursions than with in-class learning. While we did have multiple basic Italian language and Roman history lessons in a classroom setting, we primarily experienced Roman culture by visiting famous landmarks, making our own pizza and pasta, and learning how to sing Italian pop songs, dance the Tarantella, and create mosaics and frescoes. We would have a professor give us lectures while we toured museums and historic monuments like the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, and the Uffizi in Florence. On other days, the 19 of us high school students would roam the streets with just our two program leaders to get a taste of gelato, relax by a pool or a park, and shop at piazzas. One of my favorite activities was climbing St. Peter’s Dome, which has a total of 551 steps. Climbing up was the hardest part, but the view overlooking the Eternal City was well worth the exercise.

Spending three weeks with complete strangers sounded pretty scary at first, but soon enough, I was able to make 18 new friends. We slept in a hostel only a few blocks away from Vatican City where the Pope lives, and I had an unforgettable time dorming there. I became good friends with all of my peers, many of whom I still keep in touch with. Though this trip did have its ups and downs, like the time I got an allergic reaction to five mosquito bites and had to go to the hospital, or when my luggage was delayed for a week, I managed to do something that I had never thought I would have. These three weeks abroad made this summer the best I ever had, and I hope this won’t be the last time I study abroad.

Kayla Lew, senior

Seville, Spain

Ever since I was in middle school, I had dreams of studying abroad. I believe studying abroad is a valuable experience that allows one to grow as a person. Though I thought living somewhere out of the U.S. and far away from my family would be challenging, I knew such an opportunity would be academically, culturally, and personally fulfilling, as it would push me out of my cultural comfort zone and motivate me to explore and appreciate. I finally decided to apply during my junior year to CIEE’s High School Study Abroad Program: Language and Culture in Seville, Spain. When I learned I was accepted and even received a scholarship, I was extremely excited.

I would spend four weeks living with a host family in Seville, immersing myself in the Spanish culture, improving my Spanish speaking skills, and meeting incredible peers from around the U.S. A typical day included eating breakfast with my family, going on excursions with the program leaders, eating tapas for lunch, taking a siesta (nap), going to three-hour Spanish class, and wrapping up the night with dinner with my family.

After this experience, I can say I’ve definitely gained many perspectives on the Spanish culture and even on life. I’ve visited beautiful attractions, interacted with many locals, and developed strong relationships with my peers, teachers, and host family. Academically, it was very challenging but very worth it. We were advised to speak Spanish basically 24/7, and even after studying Spanish for five years, it was difficult to communicate. I often couldn’t understand what my host family said and couldn’t speak to them without formulating the sentence in my head, hoping it would turn out grammatically correct. However, I eventually realized that this is all part of the learning experience. Studying abroad really allowed me to try incredible things that I wouldn’t be able to experience at home, and I am so grateful I was able to participate in the program.