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| Students return from journey of a lifetime |
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Posted: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 9:02 pm
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By KATIE DONALDSON
Messenger Intern
The sun shone hard and bright on families waiting to pick up their young European travelers Monday.
Local students arrived in Union City at 3:20 p.m. Monday after riding a bus from the Memphis International Airport. They pulled into the Union City High School parking lot to find their families waiting with signs, smiles and big hugs.
Cheryl Ransom, mother of UCHS students Garrett and Grant Ransom, held a sign welcoming her sons back and showing their Advanced Placement scores, or AP scores, on their U.S. history exam as a surprise. Both received passing scores.
“I’m just so excited,” Ransom said about her sons’ arrival.
Marlee Wicker, younger sister of Obion County Central High School student Allison Wicker, held another welcome sign for her sister.
OCCHS students Lindsay Castellaw, Matthew Kegan Tittle and Allison Wicker; South Fulton High School student Zack Vaughn; and UCHS students Macie Britt, Destiny Powers, Garrett Ransom and Grant Ransom returned from the fourth Union City Rotary Club 12-day all-expense-paid trip a day later than planned.
The students, along with their chaperones Union City Middle School teacher Mary Hellen Johnson and her husband, David, were supposed to arrive in Memphis Sunday around 6:30 p.m. and in Union City at 9:30.
Unfortunately, the plane to Chicago landed two hours late, causing the group to miss its flight to Memphis.
After one final night in a hotel, the students made it back to their families.
Though they were all happy to be reunited with loved ones, most students wished they had more time across the Atlantic.
“I wanted to stay,” Allison said about leaving Europe.
Several also chimed in with comments about the hot weather. The Italian cities they saw have almost the same temperature as Obion County, but the students said the humidity here makes a huge difference in how hot it feels.
The group visited London, Paris and Switzerland on their trip before traveling to Italy.
They saw the famous Big Ben clock tower and several other sights while in London, including the Tower of London.
From there, they took a train underneath the English Channel in the “Chunnel.” The travelers seemed to enter a James Bond film set when someone attempted to hijack a train car. The culprit was not successful, and the rising seniors and their chaperones made it safely to Paris.
The group decided the English demeanor is much friendlier than the French during their stay in Paris. Though the natives were not as welcoming, the group still enjoyed the beautiful sight of Paris from the Eiffel Tower at night.
After seeing the Eiffel Tower “twinkle,” the group made their way to Switzerland, which was a favorite destination for a few students.
Allison referred to it as “the most beautiful country” they saw on the trip in one of the phone calls home.
Students were not allowed to bring their cell phones or laptops on the trip. Instead, a different student called home each day to report about their travels.
“It’s clean country all around,” Matthew said about Switzerland.
In the alpine nation, the group went up Mount Titlis, located in the western part of the Alps, on gondolas and had a snowball fight before going back down. They also swam in the freezing waters of Lake Lucerne, the fourth largest Swiss lake.
Their final days were spent in Italy, where they visited Verona, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome.
Juliet’s House, a replica of Michelangelo’s statue of David, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Trevi Fountain name only a few of the sights Italy revealed to them.
After all the tours and sightseeing, the students seemed to want nothing but rest when they arrived.
Rotarian Clay Woods asked the students if they had enough energy left to give their presentation to the Rotary Club about the trip and their shared experiences.
“I think if we can deal with the subways, we can deal with the program,” Destiny said followed by laughs from the group.
This positive attitude went with the students on the journey to the four different nations, and everyone along the way took notice.
“We got compliments everywhere,” Mrs. Johnson said about the students.
Whenever a conflict with the schedule popped up, she said the students expressed their opinions and together made a conclusive decision about how to spend their funds or where to go.
“It’s everything it could’ve been, and that’s because of the students,” Johnson said.
The rising seniors will finish off their Rotary travel program with a presentation showing and telling the Rotary Club about the cultures, currencies and places they encountered on the European trip.
If anyone is interested in seeing the finished presentation or receiving a copy, contact Mrs. Johnson at 536-1061. The presentation will not be available until about mid-August.
Editor’s note: Messenger intern Katie Donaldson, daughter of Jim and Cindy Donaldson of Union City, is a rising senior at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Published in The Messenger 7.10.12 |
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