May 2015 Report for Tori Johnson
Tori Johnson, our foreign exchange student in Latvia, reports on her last month of school, beginning with a sight-seeing tour of Lithuania. Here she is in her own words:
Tori Johnson, our foreign exchange student in Latvia, reports on her last month of school, beginning with a sight-seeing tour of Lithuania. Here she is in her own words:
The first thing we saw was called “crucifixion hill”, a hill covered in thousands of crosses. From what I could understand, people have been putting crosses onto that mountain for hundreds of years. During the Soviet period.jpg)
, Russia tried to destroy it and get rid of it, but couldn’t. Every time crosses were burned or removed, more would appear. Eventually it was declared an “unsafe” place and people weren’t allowed to go near it. Nowadays, it’s a very popular tourist sight, and people from all over the world come and place a cross on the hill. On the school trip, we also saw a castle, a Soviet-period museum, and we spent some time at a waterpark. It was such a fun trip.
, Russia tried to destroy it and get rid of it, but couldn’t. Every time crosses were burned or removed, more would appear. Eventually it was declared an “unsafe” place and people weren’t allowed to go near it. Nowadays, it’s a very popular tourist sight, and people from all over the world come and place a cross on the hill. On the school trip, we also saw a castle, a Soviet-period museum, and we spent some time at a waterpark. It was such a fun trip.I went to Riga to march in “the parade of nations,” in celebration of a marathon that took place the following day. People from all over the world met at the Freedom Statue in Riga. There were about 60 different flags, and you would go and stand with your nation’s flag. I met some other Americans who were also running in the marathon, and I also met some awesome British runners! That was such an incredible experience. I met a 70 year-old man who was running his 500th marathon! I found it strange when two guys wanted to take a picture with me because I was American. But it was fun to meet all kinds of different people from so many different countries. And the next day was the marathon. I am very proud to say that I ran, and finished my first half-marathon! It was raining and cold, but I am still very excited about it.
And finally, the school year ended. The last day of school we got dressed up and went to an assembly with the whole school. I had asked my friend (who is the school president) if I could say a few words at the assembly. She said yes, and she also spent about an hour with me practicing my speech. I read it on a paper, and when I actually spoke at the assembly, I got a standing ovation! It was a bittersweet day, on one hand I was glad for the end of school and for summer to start, but on the other it was also sad to say goodbye. At the end of the day, my class threw a goodbye party for me. It was emotional, but I consider myself blessed to have been able to become such great friends with these amazing people.
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