Over the summer, members of the WSPN Editorial Board traveled all around the world. Join News Editors Ainsley Jay and Annabelle Hage as they recap some WSPN members’ summer months. From the small states of New England to the Imperial City of Morocco, here are just some of the places they visited.
Block Island, Rhode Island
Social Media Editor Kate Goodman spent the entire summer on Block Island, an island off the coast of Rhode Island. Goodman worked at the Glass Onion, a home goods store that sells kitchenette items, clothes and jewelry.
Some of her favorite activities include visiting the beach and going out on a boat with her friends. She would also try to catch the sunset every night.
Harvard Medical School in Boston
Features Editor Fiona Peltonen remained local this summer, as she interned in Boston at the Harvard Medical Center. She learned how to diagnose patients, deliver babies and treat all different kinds of emergencies.
Peltonen’s highlight from her internship was successfully learning how to intubate and swaddle babies, using realistic model dolls.
Morocco
Opinion Editor Olivia Green took a plane over to the other side of the Atlantic where she traveled to Morocco and Portugal over the summer. In Morocco, she visited sites of movie sets outside the Imperial City of Marrakesh. This area is where some scenes from the movies Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Indiana Jones and Cleopatra were filmed, along with the upcoming movie, The Odyssey, which is currently being filmed.
Greece
Co-Multimedia-Editor Vanessa Taxiarchis visited Anti Paros, Greece. One of the activities she enjoyed doing was walking around the town of Antiparos. Antiparos is a Greek island in the Cyclades group, being known for its white houses, picturesque streets and gardens.
One highlight she has from her time in Greece is when she took a private boat to one of the smaller islands of Greece. One memory from that island was jumping off the side of the boat, enjoying the water and swimming around with fish.
East Asia
Copy Editor Kyle Zhang spent the summer across the world in East Asia. First, he traveled to Japan, where he visited cities Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. After a week, he flew to China to meet up with his family in Chengdu and Beijing. He also took a roadtrip to He Bei, Shan Xi陕西 and Shan Xi 山西. He also visited the castle Qiao Jia Da Yuan 乔家大院, depicted in the image above.
In both countries, some highlights for Zhang were exploring the cities and learning about the culture, visiting Shinto and Buddhist shrines, along with seeing landmarks such as the Yellow River waterfalls and other ancient cities.
Columbia, South Carolina
Co-Multimedia-Editor Grace Zocco went to Columbia, South Carolina to drop off her sister, past Social Media Editor Emma Zocco at the University of South Carolina. She recalls the experience as bittersweet, as she had fun making memories with her family, but ultimately was sad to see her sister go.
Cape Cod
G. Zocco also visited Cape Cod with her friends. She spent time in her friend’s Cape house in Falmouth. Some of her favorite activities include going to the beach, watching sunsets and shopping with her friends.
Charlevoix, Michigan
Co-News-Editor Ainsley Jay visited Charlevoix, Michigan, which includes one of the Great Lakes, Lake Charlevoix. One of her favorite parts of the trip was visiting Lavender Hill Farm. The Lavender Hill Farm includes 30 species of lavender and a gift shop.
It’s run by a couple, Erin and Bill Mansfield, along with Rita Robbins. They have been running the farm since 2015. When they bought the farm it had around 2,000 plants, and now it has 13,000. In the summer, the staff consists of around over 60 workers, including people working as tourguides, in agriculture and at the gift shop.
“I love seeing all the people that show up at the farm from every different walks of life and every place, not just the states, but other counties as well [who visit the farm],” Owner of Lavender Hill Farm Erin Mansfiedl said. “It’s just really cool seeing everyone come together in Northern Michigan.”