WGHS Travels Far in Hopes of Finding GOD, GOLD, GLORY, or BULLDOZERS

Photo Courtesy of Trafalgar.com

The students at Walnut Grove High School have traveled far, ranging from North Carolina to the Dominican Republic, and even to Japan, coming in and exploring cultures separate from their own and coming out with unforgettable experiences.
by Noah Summers, Liberty Martin, and Grant S. Dillard

The students at Walnut Grove High School have traveled far, ranging from North Carolina to the Dominican Republic, and even to Japan, coming in and exploring cultures separate from their own and coming out with unforgettable experiences.

Blake Barr is one of WGHS’s 9th graders. He has seen all around the globe, from Japan, to France, and all the way out in St. Martin. Yet, out of all these visits, Blake had one particular favorite. Blake enjoyed Japan the most: “Out of all of them, the prettiest was probably Japan. It was super clean, too.” Throughout his stay in Japan, Blake had tons of fun experiences, including touring the area and its various shops, and eating one of his favorite foods, ramen. “It was probably going around and exploring. Because there’s like a ton of little shops.” But Japan wasn’t the only place Blake had a colorful time at. In St. Martin, located in the northern part of the Caribbean Sea, during his stay, he swam with dolphins, hooked into a tarpon, and visited a few tourism spots. “I went on a charter and it went right beside a really famous person’s house.”

Kaynnah Kollie, 10th grade, has been all around the southern United States. From North Carolina to Louisiana, he has seen his fair share of southern culture, but nonetheless, he holds favorites: “North Carolina; that's where my grandparents are.” He often found himself playing football with his cousins, and during his downtime, he fancied Honey Hot Cheese Puffs and refreshing himself with some Sun Drop. “You can only mostly get these in North Carolina.” North Carolina wasn’t the only state he had in mind to talk about. “Florida is in second place because I miss it over there — they had a beach and everything.” Kaynnah values the great outdoors, and in this case, it was Cocoa Beach, Florida, “because it was pretty.” Now, one could imagine being at a beach to be calming, somewhat refreshing even. And Kaynnah felt the same way, but during one of his beach experiences, he may not have kept that same attitude. A sound rumbled from behind him. Loud, somewhat mechanical. Rather angry? He was left in shock as he witnessed a multitude of oncoming bulldozers and one boat "getting closer and closer to [him].” It was pretty awkward, actually. “I don’t know what they were doing.” It wasn’t quick at all, but nevertheless, it was a core memory he held dear.

Blake Watson, tenth grade, has been to four states throughout his lifetime: Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and his top pick, Florida. “I would stay in a condo and I’d go to the beach.” Back when he stayed in Florida, his brother and father “made a really realistic sand alligator at the beach.” In fact, he loves the beach a lot. “Whenever I go to the beach in these states, I get mussels because those are my favorite seafood. And I just [start] slamming [them] down.” But this isn’t only in Florida. “One time I went to North Carolina and I was at Kure Beach and we went to this Italian restaurant. They put mussels in the pasta. W eats.” And about Kure Beach, he finds the boardwalk to be the most beautiful part. And what he also believes to be exceptional is Mongolian culture. He looks up to Genghis Khan and hopes to be a conqueror just like him one day.

Riley Emmett, junior, is extremely well-traveled. She has been to Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, California, Belize, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Saint Thomas, Costa Maya, and even more. Her front-runner country has to be Belize. “Belize was fun, because I rode dune buggies.” She found Belize to be exceptional compared to the other countries she has been to. While she did get to ride dune buggies, she also had the privilege of seeing The Royal at Atlantis. “I was on vacation and I went to the Bahamas. There was this tower-thing and in the middle there’s this big connector — a room they call the Michael Jackson Suite, because he stayed there and it was $10,000 a night.” Safe to say, she did not pay for that suite. She also did not find any specific parts of the world pretty. In fact, she found the prettiest part of her travels to be herself, which is very humble.

Whether it was Alabama or Japan, Walnut Grove’s students have certainly made their way around the globe, finding God, gold, or glory, but regardless of what their desires for travel are, they have left with fond memories and newly discovered cultures to be influenced by.