RCA's Spring International Trips

How does one color the spellbinding waters of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia or capture voices carried in the winds swirling atop the acropolis in Athens or paint the glitter of Parisian lights against night sky?

As RCA students traveled the globe, they were challenged to use sensory language to chronicle their journey and express every scent, flavor, sound, emotion and indelible vision encountered.

We share a few of their reflections here:

ARSENE LAKPA – 7^th Grader

FEEL [Rome]

I feel so I can experience

I feel so I understand 

I feel Rome  

Its history

Coursing through my veins

Its culture

Seeping through my skin 

I feel Rome

My heart beats with excitement

As I walk into the Colosseum

Feel like a gladiator

Ready to fight

But scared to death

I walk by the columns

Feel the cool stone 

I feel Rome  
 
 
 

KENNEDY GUEST-PRITCHETT – 7^th Grader 

TASTE [Greece]

Never knew the sky’s color could reach the ground but it did

It was salty

But as I got my first Grecian meal

I knew that I was here

A bit confused

Greek lasagna?

Smelling the cheese

Maybe?

IDK

But what I think is beef

       same texture

Is lamb

A sweeter  taste

Now a different type of

Sauce

A little chunky

Ahhh, that’s where the cheese aroma comes from 

When I taste that first bite it’s

Creamy

Gooey

Along with noodles

But better than lasagna

Now I don’t have to keep asking myself questions

Because I realize

---It’s Greek Moussaka!

DASIA KIRKLEY – 8^th Grader

DEEP BLUE SEE [Australia]

Reds

Blues

Golds

A rainbow of tiny critters blind me with their beauty

Close enough for me to just barely see the dark colored spots on their backs

Or the stripes that dance with the current

Live to survive

Gliding through the ocean we see two dark orange ovals

Fish!

Swimming next to or near

Fireball red colored plants with tentacles

Bright

Dark

Little lands

Inhabited by fish that show their emotions with color 

The buzzing of a swarm of bees

Hum of a humming bird

An echo in the distance

Kangaroos dancing by the fire

Boomerang’s death note

A mother’s cry for help

A baby’s first step

Old tales

New generations 
 
 

 

MERRCK ADAMS – 7^th Grader

[Rome/Greece]

Dear Journal,

      As I sit here and think of my time in Italy, I keep thinking of the food. The food here is amazing! It is tasty and nutritious at the same time. The pasta is very good. They cook the noodles so that they are a little chewy. They put sauces that are sort of like the ones in America, but they taste better and are rich.

      Another famous Italian food is gelato. They have thousands of different flavors making them each certain ways. My favorite was the banana flavor. It tasted just like banana pudding with vanilla wafers. 

Dear Journal,

      As I get closer to the ferry, I notice how shiny and sharp it is. It is like a wet sword cutting through the salty waters. As I get on the ship I see shining colors everywhere, everything sparkles in the light. While standing on the deck, I can feel the slippery, smooth floor.

      Then we moved up to the dance floor. All the different people doing their own dance, not caring what people think.

      Fists in the air everywhere. Everyone enjoying themselves and having a good time.  

OSEI AVRIL – 8^th Grader

[Australia]

Dear Journal,

Today my mind is in a flurry because I have never heard people speaking my native language in such a different way. Something about the way Aussie’s speak is rough and wild. I can’t help but want to hear more!

The sounds of the city are not much different from my own back home and that can be very comforting at times.

Today, I’ve also heard the emotions and feelings of anxious children and excited adults in their tales of how they feel about spending the next week in a country foreign to us all. But, when the day is over and we are sent off to our rooms for the night, I will be sleeping in silence.

 Dear Journal,

Walking had never been as much of an experience as it was on Manly Beach. The sand grains rubbing and crushing against the soles of my feet were a sensation like none I could’ve imagined.  While kicking up sand on the beach, I could feel the power and intensity of an excited sun. Were it not for my thick coating of sunscreen, I have no doubt that I would also be feeling the stinging sensation of something called sunburn.

After taking a walk to the surfing school and getting our equipment, it was time to cross the wavering boundary between land and sea.

The first step is always the hardest; it sent chills through my body that gave me a rush to jump in. As we boarded our boards and rode into the waves I could feel the graceful power of the ocean propelling me forward on the slickness of the board. I’ve never been happier.