On Wednesday, April 26, Class VI students presented their ‘Round The World (RTW) projects to parents, faculty and peers. The assignment challenged students to budget their time and money as they explored different cultures on imaginary adventures around the world.
As directed by faculty members Don Allard and E.B. Bartels '06, visitors to each student’s display asked questions like “How was the surfing in Costa Rica?” and “What did you learn about Hinduism while you were in Nepal?” Souvenirs, passports and digital journal entries lent substance to the students’ elaborate travel stories.
Jennifer Do-Dai ’21 wore the traditional dress of Vietnam as she presented dozens of souvenirs from her adventures, including a stuffed wombat, a handmade mummy and an expansive stamp collection. Other students served food at their displays, like Angie Gabeau ‘21, who offered pate from her trip to Haiti. “Most people think this is a pastry,” she said, “But it’s actually filled with meat. It’s the comfort food of Haiti, kind of like hamburgers in America.”
Anya Cheng ’21 gushed about her skydiving excursion in New Zealand. “I’m pretty afraid of heights, but New Zealand is famous for its extreme sports and I figured, ‘why not try it while I’m here!’” Taylor Hyland ‘21 tried skydiving Bora Bora, but was not at all afraid. “After all my research,” she smiled, “I realized it’s not that bad.” Meanwhile, Pia Serowik ’21 imagined herself submerged in a cage surrounded by great white sharks off the coast of South Africa. “One came very close to me! Very scary!”
Justin Qin ’21 chose unique adventures for every place he visited. He saw a bee farm in Corsica, found a scarab beetle fossil in Egypt, stood with the terra cotta army in China and rode a tortoise on the Galápagos Islands. After his educational trip to Trinidad and Tobago, he gave a PSA against the unethical capture of endangered macaws for the pet trade.
Click through the gallery below for pictures from this annual challenge.