Who doesn’t love winter break? Your stressful exams have finally ended, school is out for three weeks, and you can pretty much sleep whenever you want. Maybe on a snowy day, you’re going outside with friends, sipping on some hot cocoa, or watching a good movie.
The way I see it, a KO student’s winter break might look a little like one of these two scenarios: spending your three weeks curled up in your home with the occasional outing, or you’re traveling the world.
As much as I love staying home and sleeping, traveling the world is much cooler, and this break, our Wyverns went everywhere from China to India to Colombia.
Junior Nidhi Bhat spent her winter break relaxing in India. Nidhi visited her grandparents and relatives for about two weeks and ended up traveling to many different places. “We went to celebrate my grandfather’s 90th birthday,” Nidhi said. “We threw him a giant party with all of my relatives.”
She got to spend time with her cousins, aunts, and uncles while there, which she said was so much fun. “Honestly, the best part of those kinds of trips is just seeing everyone and eating the really amazing food,” Nidhi said. Her favorite food was all of the delicious street food that you can find. “It’s really greasy but it’s so good.”
Similarly, junior Max Huang traveled back to China spending three weeks in bustling Shanghai to visit his friends and family. “Shanghai is a little like New York, just with cleaner subways,” he said.
The long flight and intense change of scenery and culture might intimidate some, but Max simply saw this trip as a short reunion back home and a time to catch up with the people he cares most about.
The Tippner family traveled to Colombia this winter break. “Our family usually alternates school breaks between Germany and Colombia,” senior Speaker Nicolas Tippner said. “Our entire mom’s family lives in Colombia, and our entire dad’s side of the family lives in Germany.”
They began their break in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, where they visited their grandparents and saw extended family. “In Colombia, the nine days leading up to Christmas are called The Novena,” Nick said, “so we had one big party with family and friends which was really nice.”
Following The Novena celebration, the family took a three-hour trip to a resort-like stay in the mountains, where the family went golfing, hung out by the pool, and pretty much relaxed the whole break. “My mom had the menu planned beforehand, but the food my family cooked was amazing,” Nick said. “Not to mention there were no dishes for kids to do.”
Overall, he said that it was a very relaxing break with family and friends that included great food and scenery. “We hiked, swam, and did all kinds of fun activities, but seeing my cousins and relatives was definitely my favorite part,” he shared.
Although these trips don’t sum up the entire KO community, it definitely seems like our Wyverns were busy over break. Now we just have to make it to spring break!
