Over winter break this year, students at KO had the chance to relax, enjoy spending quality time with their friends and family, and catch up on some much-needed sleep. However, lots of our Wyverns had the opportunity to travel the world this break and explore places as far as Chile, Germany, and Aruba.
Senior Daniela Tippner traveled to Germany this break, where she spent an amazing two weeks with family. “We stayed with family to celebrate Christmas and New Years,” Dani said, “but also to spend time with them, as we are only able to go visit once a year.” Dani’s entire family was there in Germany, including her siblings who were away at college, which she said was super special.
While in Germany, Dani learned how to play a game called paddle tennis. She went with all of her cousins, and said the experience was really cool. “I think it’s essentially just a mix of pickleball and tennis, but it was a lot of fun, so I definitely recommend it,” she commented. She also said that because of the holiday season, lots of the German Christmas markets were open, and her family spent many evenings enjoying the different foods and drinks they had to offer.
Meanwhile, senior Abigail Schiff traveled to Chile for ten days this break. “It was my first time visiting the family I have there,” Abbie said, “and it was amazing to finally meet them after so long!”
She began her trip in Santiago and went up San Cristobal on a funicular. “The mountain actually ended up catching on fire because the UV was so high,” Abbie recalled, “so we had to evacuate, which was pretty wild.”
Abbie said that the culture in Chile was so different than what she expected, but it was interesting to learn about it and share memories with her family. “We got to see the hot springs in the Andes, which was really cool,” Abbie said. “Each level of the springs was actually a different temperature, and when you got to the top, it was almost boiling.”
She said that the highlight of her trip was going sand surfing at sunset. Abbie’s family took what looked like snowboards up into the sand dunes and learned how to ride them down. “It was incredible, and we got to see a view of the ocean as we surfed,” she described.
Finally, senior Ysabel Albert took a trip to Aruba this winter break. Yzzy got to go with her grandparents, dad, and younger brother, for almost two weeks to the tropical island. “We were there for the holidays and for New Year’s,” she said, “and we definitely loved being in the warm weather.”
During her trip, she spent the majority of her time at the beach. Besides laying out in the sun all day, her family went jet skiing and seabobbing, while also going out for dinner in the evenings. “The best part of the trip was swimming in the ocean and being in the warm weather,” Yzzy said. She especially enjoyed swimming out to the buoys and even getting her grandparents to go in the water. One thing to note is that while in Aruba, Yzzy tried lots of new foods; however, she can now say that she definitely doesn’t like escargot!
Our students seemed to have a blast this winter break, and I hope that everyone is recharged and ready to be back at school. As the new semester begins, we’re all excited to hear even more about everyone’s adventures!
