Every summer, high school students from all over the country look forward to leaving the school year in the past and visiting somewhere new while they are on break. This summer, students from Newton High School were able to go on vacation to destinations all over the country and the world.
This summer, junior Lucy Buller and her family took the opportunity to go out of the country and spend some time in both Germany and France. Buller and her family started their trip by visiting Germany, where she also got to see her older sister, who spent the year as an exchange student for the recent school year. Buller especially loved visiting the city of Berlin while she was in Germany because the town brought back so many memories for her.
“The highlight of my trip was reliving my childhood memories in Berlin,” Buller said. “I lived there for a short period of time before I went to Kindergarten and visited several times in elementary school, so it was special to get to see those places so many years later.”
Buller was able to visit many locations around both Germany and France. She visited a handful of small towns, but her family also visited some well-known big cities, such as Paris and Berlin. Culturally, in the big cities, Buller noticed some differences between the locals’ lives and Kansas living, such as the fashion sense.
“Besides the languages, the biggest cultural difference that I noticed was the fashion,” Buller said. “It might just be a big city thing, but the majority of the people in Paris and Berlin were a lot more dressed up than people here usually are. Even if people weren’t going to an event or anything, street fashion is just a lot more dressy than it is here.”
On vacations to large and popular cities, sometimes it can be hard to visit all of the landmarks on your list. Buller was unable to hit one of her must-see locations this time while visiting Paris but hopes she can make it out there to see it in the future.
“One place I really want to go to is the Palace of Versailles, outside of Paris. We were only in Paris for four days and there is so much to do in the city that we didn’t make it out there this time. Next time I can get there, it is definitely on my list,” Buller said.
For senior Eliza Epp, the highlight of her summer was visiting New York City with the Kalidescope Dance Company from Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts. The BCAPA students were able to take dance classes and visit a couple of renowned dance studios in the area.
“The highlight of my trip was being able to take dance classes at different famous studios in New York,” Epp said. “My company and I went to Broadway Dance Center, Alvin Ailey, and Peri Dance.”
Epp expressed her love for the city and would recommend the experience of visiting to everyone. She said that there were countless things to see and was happy in the end with everything the dance company was able to do on their trip. One specific location Epp loved was the Ellen Stardust Diner.
“If anyone were to go to New York I would recommend them going to the Ellen Stardust Diner,” Epp said. “The wait staff at this diner are all broadway singers and performers and will sing the whole time while you’re there. It has a great atmosphere and is definitely a must-see.”