Junior Year: February 2014
We flew to Boston, Massachusetts in the snowy winter of my Junior year. It had been the first year that the AGS junior class went to Boston, because every other year, the Junior trip was to go to New Orleans. The objective for this project was to investigate and conduct research over a specific cultural group that lived within Boston, and mine was the Haitian population in that area. The AGS students were given the opportunity to create their own itinerary for their groups for the trip, and needless to say, the planning was a little hectic at first, but once we all sat down and wrote up a plan, the plan was better made and more set in stone.
When we first got to Boston, we roamed around the city a little bit to kill time as well as visiting a local pub to grab some dinner before we went to an outdoor ice skating rink with our friends and classmates. Of everything that we did on that trip, the ice skating was probably the thing I enjoyed most, or close to the most. Although it was snowing while we were skating, it made the experience all the more fun because it rarely snows in Texas, so being able to spend time in it for once was a lot of fun for me.
The second day was the only day that our teachers planned for us. We spent the say in Salem, which was actually a cool place to visit. We had talked briefly about the Salem Witch Trials in AP US History before going on the trip, so being in Salem and hearing about the history of the place that we were in was an interesting environment to be in. We went to an art museum while we were there and were able to walk around and enjoy the art with friends, grabbed some food, and went on our way to the Salem museum where we watched a performance about the history of Salem. After we finished there, we went to the graveyard of the witches that were tried during the Salem Witch trials. It was beautiful. It looked like someone sprayed out a lot of shaving cream onto the ground because the snow looked so smooth-- that is until a bunch of teenagers marked it with footprints. We walked on and found ourselves in a large park with a lot of luscious snow that was just sitting there waiting to be thrown at each other, so we had a snowball (or rather a snowchunk) fight. That was one of the other parts that I enjoyed a lot. I was never able to have snow fights as a kid, so being able to play in the snow so my inner child was unleashed which was good to feel again after all of the responsibilities of growing up. The feelings of being a kid slowly begin to wither away and before we know it, we're high school seniors about to go off to college and begin the new chapter of life. Once night came, we got a little lost in Salem and got back to the train late and missed it, so we had to wait outside in like 20 degrees for about 45 minutes to wait for the next train to come by. That was probably one of the worst parts. We were all huddled like a group of penguins in the winter. That was actually funny to see. But eventually we got back to the hotel and all passed out.
The next two days was dedicated to researching the Haitian culture, and interviewing the people that we had planned for when we were back home in the classroom. Unfortunately two of our sources didn't go as planned, but we also got a lot of good info from two great Haitian fellows, Franklin Dalembert from the Haitian Coalition and Oswald Neptune (I swear that was his name) from the old folks home that we actually just randomly found after one of our sources hadn't worked out, so it all worked out nicely. By the end of that day, we had gone to our final event for interviewing and meeting people from the Haitian community, and this is where we met Jean Appolan. He was a Haitian expression dancer that we visited in his studio and were actually able to learn Haitian dance. This was also close to the best thing about the trip. Our entire group was partaking in this dance class, so we were all having a lot of fun with this different movement that none of us have done before. All of the people were very welcoming and friendly with us while we were there. I never felt like an outsider. It was good judgement-free zone which was a good feeling. We got some odd looks while being in some parts of Boston, which was a different feeling to have.
The last day rolled around and we were all sad to leave, but also ready to be back home in the warmth and out of the snow. I admit that I love the snow, but I wouldn't want to live in a place where it snows a lot. It's just a magical thing to be able to visit. On the last day, our group decided to go to the aquarium along the bay and saw a lot of awesome animals. It's been a long time since I've been to a really good aquarium so I enjoyed myself, however, then after that we went to the Science museum which was quite possibly the greatest thing in the world. I love science so everything there caught my attention as I walked around and played with things and enjoyed myself. Although, the best thing about that place was the tessla coils. A few of us went into the electricity part of the museum and saw a two two-story tall tessla coils and I found a listing that there would be a show soon so I convinced the group to stay for that because I think that stuff is amazing. We had to leave in the middle of the show to go back to the hotel to pack our things for our flight later that day, but there is a special place in my heart for that place ever since we left. It's definitely a trip that I will never be able to forget.
When we first got to Boston, we roamed around the city a little bit to kill time as well as visiting a local pub to grab some dinner before we went to an outdoor ice skating rink with our friends and classmates. Of everything that we did on that trip, the ice skating was probably the thing I enjoyed most, or close to the most. Although it was snowing while we were skating, it made the experience all the more fun because it rarely snows in Texas, so being able to spend time in it for once was a lot of fun for me.
The second day was the only day that our teachers planned for us. We spent the say in Salem, which was actually a cool place to visit. We had talked briefly about the Salem Witch Trials in AP US History before going on the trip, so being in Salem and hearing about the history of the place that we were in was an interesting environment to be in. We went to an art museum while we were there and were able to walk around and enjoy the art with friends, grabbed some food, and went on our way to the Salem museum where we watched a performance about the history of Salem. After we finished there, we went to the graveyard of the witches that were tried during the Salem Witch trials. It was beautiful. It looked like someone sprayed out a lot of shaving cream onto the ground because the snow looked so smooth-- that is until a bunch of teenagers marked it with footprints. We walked on and found ourselves in a large park with a lot of luscious snow that was just sitting there waiting to be thrown at each other, so we had a snowball (or rather a snowchunk) fight. That was one of the other parts that I enjoyed a lot. I was never able to have snow fights as a kid, so being able to play in the snow so my inner child was unleashed which was good to feel again after all of the responsibilities of growing up. The feelings of being a kid slowly begin to wither away and before we know it, we're high school seniors about to go off to college and begin the new chapter of life. Once night came, we got a little lost in Salem and got back to the train late and missed it, so we had to wait outside in like 20 degrees for about 45 minutes to wait for the next train to come by. That was probably one of the worst parts. We were all huddled like a group of penguins in the winter. That was actually funny to see. But eventually we got back to the hotel and all passed out.
The next two days was dedicated to researching the Haitian culture, and interviewing the people that we had planned for when we were back home in the classroom. Unfortunately two of our sources didn't go as planned, but we also got a lot of good info from two great Haitian fellows, Franklin Dalembert from the Haitian Coalition and Oswald Neptune (I swear that was his name) from the old folks home that we actually just randomly found after one of our sources hadn't worked out, so it all worked out nicely. By the end of that day, we had gone to our final event for interviewing and meeting people from the Haitian community, and this is where we met Jean Appolan. He was a Haitian expression dancer that we visited in his studio and were actually able to learn Haitian dance. This was also close to the best thing about the trip. Our entire group was partaking in this dance class, so we were all having a lot of fun with this different movement that none of us have done before. All of the people were very welcoming and friendly with us while we were there. I never felt like an outsider. It was good judgement-free zone which was a good feeling. We got some odd looks while being in some parts of Boston, which was a different feeling to have.
The last day rolled around and we were all sad to leave, but also ready to be back home in the warmth and out of the snow. I admit that I love the snow, but I wouldn't want to live in a place where it snows a lot. It's just a magical thing to be able to visit. On the last day, our group decided to go to the aquarium along the bay and saw a lot of awesome animals. It's been a long time since I've been to a really good aquarium so I enjoyed myself, however, then after that we went to the Science museum which was quite possibly the greatest thing in the world. I love science so everything there caught my attention as I walked around and played with things and enjoyed myself. Although, the best thing about that place was the tessla coils. A few of us went into the electricity part of the museum and saw a two two-story tall tessla coils and I found a listing that there would be a show soon so I convinced the group to stay for that because I think that stuff is amazing. We had to leave in the middle of the show to go back to the hotel to pack our things for our flight later that day, but there is a special place in my heart for that place ever since we left. It's definitely a trip that I will never be able to forget.
DAY ONE
Our group of friends at the outdoor Ice Skating Rink It was a wonderful night in Boston.
DAY TWO: SALEM
Images from the Witch burial ground that we were able to visit. I managed to get a few good pictures before all of the snow was covered in footprints.
DAY THREE AND FOUR: TRAVEL DAYS
There were a lot of places that
we went to that day that I didn't
have pictures for, like the Old
folks home with Oswald Neptune
and the Haitian Coalition with
Franklin Dalembert.
DAY FIVE: THE AQUARIUM AND THE SCIENCE MUSEUM
The Aquarium
The Science Museum
This was neat. It was a shard of petrified lightning that was made when lightning struck a patch of sand and basically melted and then solidified around the lightning bolt. It's extremely rare, and most pieces that are found are less than a foot long and this one was about five feet long.
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These two-story tall Tesla coils in the electricity exhibit of the museum. I read about when a show would start so that we could see them in action, and we were able to stay for part of it before we had to leave.
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Goodbye Boston!