Via Verde Volume 2 Issue 3

MAY 2019 Volume 2, Issue 3

Via Verde Student Travel Magazine

THE ESCAPE AND THE RETURN A refugee’s story of fleeing Vietnam and the journey back pg. 14

PEARSON-ARASTRADERO PRESERVE, CALIFORNIA Photo by Grace Rowell

WANT TO PLACE AN AD WITH US? Contact viaverdemagazine@gmail.com

PUBLICATION POLICY Via Verde, a student travel magazine published by the students in Palo Alto High School’s Media Leadership and Management Honors Incubator class, is a designated open forum for student expression and discussion of issues of concern to its readership. Via Verde is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost.

ADVERTISING The staff publishes advertisements with signed contracts providing they are not deemed by the staff inappropriate for the magazine’s audience. For more information about advertising with Via Verde, please email us at viaverdemagazine@gmail.com or through our adviser at 650-3293837 for more information.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS The staff welcomes letters to the editors but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Send all letters to viaverdemagazine@ gmail.com or to 50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94301.

PRINTING & DISTRIBUTION Via Verde is printed by aPrintis in Pleasanton, California. The Via Verde staff will distribute copies around the Palo Alto High School campus. All Via Verde work is available at viaverdemagazine.com and verdemagazine.com/viaverde.

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VIA VERDE

Palo Alto High School’s Travel Magazine

editors-in-chief

MISSION STATEMENT Via Verde aims to be a relevant and reliable travel magazine that uses the power of the student press and desktop publishing to pursue the values of the Palo Alto Unified School District, Palo Alto High School and scholastic journalism. More specifically, the mission of the Via Verde is to provide: •

•

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may 2019 volume 2 issue 3

The magazine’s student staff with journalistic and leadership opportunities that increase their ability and desire to participate meaningfully in our society and global community; and skills to become leaders in future endeavors; The Paly community with information on travel issues from student perspectives; a forum for students to submit and publish their experiences related to travel; and an independent journalistic magazine that models integrity and creativity seeking to educate its readers on local and international cultures; and, The larger scholastic journalism community with a role model incubator publication that embodies the best of scholastic journalism and for future student-created magazines.

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Among the thousands of refugees fleeing communist Vietnam and seeking safety in the United States was Ly Doan, a parent of Palo Alto High School sophomore Jace Purcell. Forty years since her escape from Vietnam, her story comes to light in our cover story by digital editor Maia Lagna. Although Via Verde typically does not delve into stories such as this, we found Doan’s narrative to be a compelling story that illuminates a unique aspect of travel and the difficulty many have faced in order to escape from a place of oppression. For this reason, we selected “The Escape and the Return” to be the focus of our final issue as editors-in-chief. The story follows Doan on her many escape attempts from Vietnam, her ultimate success and her emotional reunion with her family when she finally travels back to her home country many years later.

After reading our cover story, read a reflection on teaching at a local Nepalese school in “Painting in Nepal” by staff writer Paula Rodenas and see Paly students photography from streets around the world in the story “In a Flash” by photo and art director Kamala Varadarajan. In our recurring profile on Paly teachers, staff writer Gwyneth Wong describes Paly Art Spectrum and AP Art History teacher Sue La Fetra’s travels to art museums from Florence to New York in “Find Me at an Art Museum.”

We hope you enjoy reading Via Verde’s final issue of the year, exploring student travel experiences and stories of various cultures across the globe.

Megan Chai Sophie Dewees

digital editor Maia Lagna

photo and art director Kamala Varadarajan

staff writers Paula Rodenas Gwyneth Wong

adviser

Paul Kandell

connect facebook.com/viaverdemag @viaverdemag issuu.com/viaverdemagazine

on the cover Paly senior Estelle Martin took this photo in Da Nang, Vietnam, a coastal city home to Buddhist shrines that populate the landscape of the Marble Mountains.

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Bon voyage and happy reading!

Sophie and Megan

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IN THIS ISSUE

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, UTAH Photo by Jenny Tseng

inside 5

Lift-off

explore 8 Nepal 10 Music Touring 12 Ms. La Fetra

reflect 14 17 20 22

Vietnam Street Photography Foreign Exchange Students Gallery

DOG-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES

Text by GWYNETH WONG Art by ASHLEY ZHAO

IN THE BAY AREA How to Jet Away From Jet Lag

Text by SOPHIE DEWEES With the weather getting warmer, now is the perfect time to take your dog for outdoor excursions. Here are a few places around the Bay Area that allow you and your dog to exercise and explore nature!

After a flight across different time zones, it’s common to experience jet lag, a temporary sleep disorder that occurs when flights disrupt our circadian rhythm. Here are some tips to help your body adjust. Good luck travelers!

1. Simulate your new schedule before you leave. Progressively go to bed an hour earlier or an hour later leading up to your trip to help your body to adjust to the new time zone.

2. Drink lots of water. Dehydration worsens jet lag symptoms. Avoid caffeinated drinks as they can contribute to dehydration and interfere with your sleep cycle.

3. Move around. Do some static stretches or a light workout after arriving to prevent soreness and stiffness. Try to avoid a heavy workout because it delays your sleep time.

4. Sleep at the time zone of your destination. Stay awake during the day when you arrive to help your body gradually adjust to the new time zone.

5. Use light to your advantage. When traveling westward, exposure to sunlight in the morning at your new destination and avoidance of afternoon and evening light will help you adjust to a new sleep schedule. When traveling eastward, do the opposite, avoid early light exposure but soak up as much sunlight as possible in the afternoon and evening.

PALO ALTO BAYLANDS The Baylands are a great place to take your dog of any size for a longer walk outdoors. The fifteen miles of trails allow for a different walk every time. Photo by Samantha Dewees

POPLAR BEACH Poplar Beach one of the most dog-friendly beaches in Half Moon Bay, California. Dogs are officially allowed on-leash on the sand with many different places for your dog to sniff! Photo

by Natalie Ho

Sources: The Washington Post, One Medical, Web MD

OTHER FUN PLACES FOR PUPS • • • •

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Foothills Park (only during weekdays), Santa Clara County, CA Montara State Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA Off-leash areas in Golden Gate Part, San Francisco, CA Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, Portola Valley, CA

LIFT-OFF

TRAVEL WORD SEARCH Compiled by GWYNETH WONG

L S C T R V Y B D E Y H X K D

U S O M Q K L E V H G N H O T

Z L N B K R F W E H P Y H R F

O A C U C Y A D D G U F G S O

Q V E N H P O D N Y A D N M T

Z I R P O O L I G E O G L P E

U T T P T O Z G X Q C B G S N

A S V F E D C A V J X E H U A

M E Q N L I V S H B E M H D L

T F V Q N D L R U Y B G R Y P

S J P C E R N N E V E P C T R

P H I H M T N X L E A Q Q K I

J P S V U G I Z H K C U U A A

D X X E I M G B O W H H H Q F

N R U B N U S O V T U Z Z I F

Words: • Airplane • Beach • Concert • Festivals • Hotel • Luggage • Picnic • Pool • Sunburn • Day

KYOTO, JAPAN Photo by Ayush Gupta

READ OUR STORIES ONLINE AT VIAVERDEMAGAZINE.COM

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Teaching in Nepal A DIFFERENT STYLE OF TRAVELING Text by PAULA RODENAS

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SWAYAMBHUNATH STUPA This is a stupa, a religious building used in Buddhism to meditate or perform different rituals. It can also be referred as the monkey temple, due to the amount of monkeys living in this area. Photo by Paula Rodenas

H

ANDS GO UP AS I WRITE math problems on the chalkboard, as 10 elementary school students eagerly wait for their turn to solve them in front of the class.

The students running towards me with big smiles on their faces, lining up for a high five or a hug is a memory I will never be able to forget.

Back in February 2018, I faced one of the most challenging but enriching experiences of my life. At 16 years old, my school gave me the opportunity of going to Nepal for two weeks to work at a local school in the village of Sauraha with the purpose of engaging in the community through teaching, building and decorating. Sauraha lies along the edge of Chitwan National Park in the southern region of the country. I have always loved to travel, so I knew I had to join my classmates and teachers on a trip that opened my eyes to a different style of traveling.

As soon as I stepped outside the airport, I noticed the poor air quality of the capital, Kathmandu; the dust that filled the air made it hard to breath.

However, the capital was filled with tall, colorful buildings, children in uniforms and people with food carts trying to earn rupees, the currency used in Nepal. There were no traffic lights, so we had to cross the road all together as a group, hoping no vehicle would run us over.

After hours of flying to our first stop, and taking a 10-hour bus ride, we arrived in Chitwan, and were greeted with a lush, green landscape. Since there weren’t as many vehicles in Chitwan, the air quality was slightly better than in Kathmandu and people were able to ride their elephants along the sidewalk.

As we entered the school, the students and teachers welcomed us with a traditional Nepalese ceremony and put a Tilaka, a classic red paste used in Nepali culture as a sym-

bol for celebration and luck, on our foreheads. I have always loved working with children, so I decided to teach for a few days and later switch to decorating the classrooms.

It was my first time teaching, but I soon got the hang of it and realized how much the students liked math. The small, square rooms with colorful desks added a cheerful feeling to the whole process. I was surprised at the student’s fluency in English, as it is not their native language. During my days of teaching, I realized that despite the lack of resources available, every student had always a smile on their face and were eager to learn from us.

For the last four days, I was given the job of making the designs for the walls of the different classrooms. It was a long process of priming the background, projecting the images we wanted to draw and finally tracing and painting them. We decided to have a theme for each wall including a multiplication table, the diagram of body parts, types of animals and different shapes. While we were working, students would come and wait outside the door, watching what we were doing.

The greatest moment of my trip was seeing the reaction on the students’ faces after looking at their newly decorated walls. This experience made me understand how simple actions can have a powerful impact. I was disappointed that we were not able to finish all classrooms, but I hope that will have the opportunity to go back in the future and finish the project we started. v

PAINTING PALS These are a few of the students I was able to teach and be with throughout my journey in Nepal. Everytime we had a break, they would ask to take pictures and videos with us.

Photo by Emma Riba

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TUNEFUL TOURING During a city tour of Prague in 2017, Hyunwoo Roh and his friends from Golden State Youth Orchestra stopped for a photo before performing their first central Europe concert in Smetana Hall that evening. The students promoted their concerts with posters and flyers to draw a larger audience. “At least for the tour two years ago [in 2017] each hall was a full house,� Roh says. Photo

by Kevin Cao

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Text by SOPHIE DEWEES

Singing and Sightseeing DEVELOPING MUSICAL SKILLS THROUGH TRAVEL

“

T

O HEAR MY OWN VOICE echoing through the giant ceiling, it was so magical,” senior Helen Noroian says, as she describes singing a solo in a ornate church in Rome on the Palo Alto High School choirs’ trip to Italy last

ferent approaches to musical performance.

“They [international audiences] are a lot more receptive,” Noroian says. “Places outside of Palo Alto … like live music a lot more than the audiences we get at a high school. The places I’ve summer. been the people have been more expressive and more passionate “It [the church] was just the most beautiful thing I’ve ever for the music.” seen,” Noroian says. “For us all to be there together witnessing that Students can experience this interaction with different people beauty … it was just really cool.” through the unique experiences that traveling provides. On trips,

For Noroian and many Paly students, performing internation- Noroian often sings impromptu performances with Paly choir at ally is a recurring opportunity of the Paly music program or an out- the base of monuments while sightseeing. side youth music organization. Through “Sometimes we’ll just find a place and these trips, students can perform in sing and then people will gather around unique halls and churches around the “[In] the places I’ve been, the us,” Noroian says. “It’s fun to sing for globe and be exposed to other cultures’ people like that, spontaneously.” people have been more expres- Whether students are performing for music and attitudes towards music.

“The basic goal of the tour is to sive and passionate for the large audiences at Carnegie Hall or a perform in those really famous halls,” small audiences at a tourist attraction, says senior Hyunwoo Roh, a member music.” the more rigorous rehearsal and perfor— HELEN NOROIAN, senior of Golden State Youth Orchestra. “Also mance schedule of the trips demands it is to experience the cultures of these a higher level of professionalism from specific places.” students.

Students in GSYO often bring music from different cultures “Performing in these super professional, famous halls with a to perform on their trips and deepen their understanding of the really serious audience that really likes classical music motivates culture they visit. me … [and] the musicians to get more serious [and] play better,”

“Especially with Russia this year there’s a lot of Russian music Roh says. we play [to] experience the Russian culture,” Roh says. “The con- Through performances and sightseeing, traveling with a musiductor wants us to experience that [music] to enhance our musical cal group allows students to connect with others and create a close playing.” community of performers.

Besides performing in renowned music centers, performing “They [the students] are all serious about music, so traveling for others outside of their typical audience of relatives or friends with a music group compared to family is a lot more fun,” Roh says. allows students to interact with different kinds of people and dif- “It helps build chemistry and strengthen friendships.” v

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Find Me at an Art Museum

LA FETRA’S ART TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD Text by GWYNETH WONG

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ALTO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL carefully studied intention, but he poured teacher Sue La Fetra always longed great emotion into his paintings.” to visit world class art museums While visiting art museums around the outside of the Bay Area, and in world, La Fetra stresses taking in the art in 2013 she finally had an opportunity when person. she accompanied her sons to Ireland on a “Europe doesn’t allow you to take as church trip. With Paris a short ride away, [many] photographs … compared to the La Fetra who teaches Art Spectrum and AP U.S.” La Fetra says.“I think that’s good beArt History and who grew up locally in Los cause I think people spend way to much Altos, eagerly headed off to the Musée de time looking through viewfinders and not I’Orangerie. enough time looking directly at the art. My The museum is regarded as one of the rule of thumb is to spend more time lookmost prestigious art museums in France ing at the art than reading the plaque by it.” and houses paintings from some of the artSeeing paintings in person has been an ists including world’s greatest Monet, Pi- entirely different experience for La Fetra. casso and Matisse.

“When you look at a In one particular book you have no idea of oval shaped room, the scale, and sometimes “There is nothing like it displays a collecwhen you walk into a tion of famous Wamuseum it just blows seeing art in person.” ter Lilies paintings La Fetra —SUE LA FETRA, teacher you away,” by artist Claude says. “Sometimes it was Monet.

Visiting much smaller than you the museum has thought it was going to changed her perspective on the art she has be and sometimes it was much bigger than always seen in books. you thought it was going to be.”

“The reproductions of the water lilies While traveling, La Fetra picked up I’ve seen are nice, but this was just really new techniques to incorporated into her moving,” La Fetra says. “Instead of stand- own paintings. For instance, she looked at ing before a rectangular painting I was im- artist Manet’s use of outlining and imitated mersed from all sides by his water lilies.” his style in one of her own paintings. She New York art museums match France’s has also turned her travel photos into works abundance of spectacular work, captivating of her own.

La Fetra and deepening her passion for art.

To students who are interested in La Fetra recounts visiting the Gug- studying art around the United States and genheim Museum located in New York and abroad, La Fetra recommends visiting New seeing a Van Gogh piece in person.

York, Paris and Florence because they have “[Van Gogh] laid down paint thickly been the western centers for artistic inand with such confidence, and yet the lines novation while possessing a tremendous of his brush strokes lead the eye swiftly over amount of high quality art. his paintings,” says La Fetra. “His color har“There is nothing like seeing art in permonies are perfect. He did everything with son,” La Fetra says. v

BACK TO EUROPE Sue La Fetra reads her travel journal, which documents her travels to London and Paris.

Photo by Megan Chai

DEEPER KRATER Sue La Fetra admires the intricate designs on the Geometric Krater at the Metropolitan Mueseum of Art in New York City. The Geometric Krater represents a period in Greek art (around 750 B.C.) when these kraters (big vessels) were used as grave markers. The images on it are geometric in design and provide a sharp contrast with the Archaic and Classical Greek periods that followed. “I had seen photos of the Krater in books before and was surprised at how big it was,” La Fetra says. Photo by Jill La Fetra

ARCHITECTURE ADMIRATION Sue La Fetra stands in front the Notre Dame a famous cathedral in Paris known for its size, antiquity and architecture. For a week, she stayed in Paris with her husband to tour Paris’s delicious pastries and art. “[I was] very impressed with the high relief sculpture at Notre Dame,” La Fetra says. Photo by Ross La Fetra

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The Escape

Text by MAIA LAGNA Art by HANNAH LI

&

the Return A REFUGEE’S STORY OF FLEEING VIETNAM AND THE JOURNEY BACK

Warning: This feature deals with accounts of sexual assault and may be a trigger for some readers.

I

MAGINE THAT ONE DAY YOU have no freedom or control over your future. Now, imagine that you must make a decision to stay with your family and live under a communist regime or risk your life to find a better future for yourself and your family.

For Ly Doan, mother of Palo Alto High School sophomore Jace Purcell, this was her reality.

Although this story is not a typical Via Verde travel story, it illustrates the history and culture of Doan’s homeland, and her emotional returning trip to Vietnam serves as a reminder that for many travelers, their journey is not optional.

Like many other Vietnamese refugees, Doan had a tumultuous and life-threatening journey, all for the promise of a better life away from communism.

Forty years later, her story is finally coming to light.

The Escape Doan was just 17 years old when she first attempted to escape the communist regime in South Vietnam.

The communists in northern Vietnam took over the region where Doan lived in 1975 with her parents and 10 siblings in Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City.

She felt like her future after finishing her schooling was ruined.

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“My bright future was gone,” Doan Cambodia and return to Saigon to find the says. “I had plans to go to university and man that cheated her. She never found him, study abroad.” but she met her father and older sister.

In 1979, four years after the commu“It was the most difficult decision I’ve nists overtook Doan’s neighborhood, she ever made in my life,” Doan says. “I was just attempted her escape crying for the longest from Vietnam. time.”

The first few tries “It was the most Doan soon made failed, but after her paran another attempt at ents salvaged enough difficult decision escaping to the border money for another at- I’ve ever made in my and found a different tempt as one of the “land leader who brought her people,” Doan took her entire life.” to Phnom Penh. Expect— LY DOAN, parent and refugee ing to see her younger four siblings, two cousins and two friends siblings, Doan found out across the border of the that they were captured Mekong river to Phnom Penh, the capital and sent back to Vietnam. of Cambodia.

The note that her siblings left said, The nicknames, “land people” and “We’re fine. They [communists] sent us “boat people,” are used to describe the Viet- home. We’re O.K.” namese refugees fleeing by ground or by By this point, Doan was about 18 years ship. old and had successfully reached the border Cambodia was controlled by the com- of Thailand. munists as well and was extremely dangerAt the border was a large jungle, where ous due to Pol Pot, Cambodia’s dictator at numerous guerilla groups were stationed, the time, and his communist Khmer Rouge including the Khmer Rouge, a group movement, which targeted educated indi- pushed out by the Vietnamese communists viduals. and Thai soldiers.

While in Cambodia Doan was cheated “If you fall into the Pol Pot group, you again. Her older sister was captured by lo- die,” Doan states. “They kill you.” cal authorities and held in jail because she The Northwest 9 camp where the Red worked for the Vietnamese government. Cross worked at the border of Thailand to According to Doan, she ate a tube of tooth- help the refugees was Doan’s destination. paste to make herself sick in an attempt to She eventually found the camp, but was escape from captivity and ran out from the stopped along the way by a group supporthospital at her first opportunity. ed by the Cambodian government.

She then chose to leave her family in “Crossing the border, people know that

you’re trying to escape, and they try to take Doan was released to the Red Cross.

“Suddenly we heard that my sister and advantage of you,” Doan says, looking back.

She was taken to the NW 9 refugee brother were here!” Doan exclaims.

At the mercy of the group, women were camp, where many Vietnamese refugees The UNHCR reunited the siblings after kidnapped and assaulted, but not Doan. stayed. interviewing both separately.

“Pretty much all the girls were raped,” Nights were still unsafe because men“It was a happy time,” Doan says with a Doan says. “I was so naïve [in thinking]that would find out where the girls bunked and laugh. “A very, very happy time.”

I would survive.” would take them after dark. To remain safe, In the Philippines, Doan was given a Doan attributes her courageousness to Doan’s friend cut her hair to resemble a boy four-month cultural orientation to prepare her being a young teenager. and gave her a cigarette to blend in. to enter the US. Doan then went through “I was fearless,” Doan says. “That’s why Eventually she was moved to a bigger numerous interviews to be sponsored to I could escape.” camp in Thailand for about a year, since travel to the US, and in June of 1981, she With the goal of wanting freedom, NW 9 was temporary. There, she learned first set foot on American soil. an education and the opportunity to have English and found a job at the United Na‘They [sponsors] get the ticket for us, a better life to help her tions High Commission- we kind of borrow the money indefinitefamily, Doan fought er for Refugees office as ly and when we graduate we pay it back,” through nights filled “I was fearless, that’s an interpreter.

Doan says. “And I already paid back all of with fear of people “I was so proud for that.” grabbing her from her why I could escape.”

100 baht a month,” Doan — LY DOAN, parent and refugee says with a smile. “That’s tent and listening to the The Return sounds of other girls like $10 a month, but I In 1994, President Bill Clinton lifted screaming. was so happy. We had the trade embargo on Vietnam, allowing To escape assault, Doan held onto the nothing.” tourists to enter. soldier’s leg in her tent and talked to him During that time, Doan’s sister and In 1995, after spending 15 years away all night. brothers who were sent back to Vietnam from home, without any contact with her “Please don’t let me go,” Doan pleaded. were able to take a boat to the Philippines, parents aside from infrequent letters, Doan From nighttime to dawn she was “beg- which was Doan’s and her siblings’ last stop was finally able to visit her birthplace. ging, begging, and talking” until she felt before immigrating to the US. She traveled with her friend and Jace’s that she was safe and let go.

After moving to the Philippines, Doan father, Sean Purcell, but they were not marAs a young woman, Doan had to resort got a surprising call. ried at the time. At the airport, Doan saw to making her body unattractive to fend off BEACH BUMS (BOTTOM LEFT) potential sexual assaulters.

Ly Doan smiles for a picture with her two children, Hallie and Jace at Vũng Tàu beach. The family regularly One day, as she was being dragged visited the beach during their return visits, which is a two-hour drive away from Ho Chi Minh City. “This was through the jungle, she grabbed the bam- where we had lots of childhood memories,” Doan said. Photo courtesy of Ly Doan boo stalks near her in resistance until it cut TRACING THE TRAIL (BOTTOM RIGHT) Ly Doan shows her son, Jace Purcell, her escape route on a map of Vietnam. Purcell described the poverty her hands. that existed in parts of Vietnam, with families living on the street begging. “It sucks,” Purcell said. Doan re“I used the blood to make me dirty,” sponded to the comment with, “That’s all they got.” Photo by Kamala Varadarajan Doan says. “I got lucky because … he couldn’t rape me.”

Eventually, through Doan’s persistence, the soldier holding her gave up and let her go.

Fortunately, after fighting for her life,

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her entire family waiting for her.

“I could hear my mom call me; she was the loudest,” Doan says. “It was very emotional, it took me a while to sink in.”

At that moment, in the old and disorganized airport, she realized the privileges she had.

“I got my American dream,” Doan says. “I went to community college and then transferred to UC Berkeley. I got my computer science degree and I got a job.”

In contrast to how she spent her last decade and a half, Doan noticed how the people remained so happy and loving, despite living in poverty.

“Going back reminded me of my true values,” Doan says.

It was Lunar New Year at the time of her visit, and Doan reacquainted herself with her many siblings again.

On New Year’s Day, as each family member gave blessings to one another, everyone began to cry happy tears all at once, HORSING AROUND according to Doan.

With the help of two guides, Ly Doan goes horseback riding with her family on a trip to Dalat, the highlands. differs from the rest of Vietnam with its distinctive French-colonial villas and strawberry, coffee and “We cried for about 45 minutes with- Dalat flower farms. Photo courtesy of Ly Doan. out saying anything,” Doan says, as tears welled up in her eyes. and she had an especially emotional mo- back to Vietnam about every two years.

Her dad admitted that he had thought ment with her father. Although they had From cooking meals together and loudly he would never see his kids again. not lived very peacefully together in the conversing over a crowded dinner table, evBecause Doan had past, they bonded as ery moment is lively and emotional. such a large family, they adults.

“People did not stop talking,” Doan could never afford to “I got my American “Even when I was at says. travel far. However, they home, I was pretty rebelNowadays, they travel less often, but were able to take a trip to dream.” lious, independent, and I Doan says it was important to let her kids — LY DOAN, parent and refugee central Vietnam as touralways had some conflict meet their family in Vietnam at a young ists. with him [Doan’s dad],” age.

When it came time Doan says. “My dad “It’s like we’re never apart,” Doan says. for her to return back to the US, saying wrote me a week later [after she left] saying “Even though we live very far [and] we goodbye to her family was heartbreaking, he was so proud of me.” don’t talk very much, when we come back, Doan laughs as she it’s almost like I never left.” recounted their moment at the gate, explaining Doan’s Legacy how her father joked Jace Purcell first visited Vietnam when about wishing the plane he was just three years old. His favorite would have to turn memories from his travels included going around so she could to the red sand dunes of Mui Ne at night come back home. and sledding down the cool sand on pieces “We never ex- of cardboard. He reminisced about the Nha pressed our feelings, we Trang beach resort with clear blue waters, just feel it,” Doan says. motorcycling around Ho Chi Minh City “We never say ‘I love during the long evenings and riding eleyou,’ I just feel that he phants in the jungle. loves me a lot.”

It was just several years ago when the younger Purcell first heard his mother’s esFamily Reunion cape story, and he explained what inspires By the time Doan’s him the most about her past. youngest child, Jace “Her courageousness and resourcefulPurcell was three years ness throughout, and hope to keep her head REUNION old, Doan decided to up after failing three to four times,” Purcell Doan’s family attends a wedding in Ho Chi Minh City. (From left to right): Doan’s mother, sister, father, uncle, aunt, Jace and Hallie. Hallie and her aunt are bring her family of four says. v wearing traditional Vietnamese dresses, Ao Dai. Photo courtesy of Ly Doan

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Text by KAMALA VARADARAJAN

in a flash

PALY’S DIVERSE INTERPRETATIONS OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

PARIS, FRANCE This image of two hunched over Parisians conversing on a public bench captures a relaxed, candid moment between the two men. Their casual composures evoke an easygoing mood and their similar clothing and hair create a reflection across the middle. The grainy film filter adds a vintage touch to the shot, eliciting a nostalgic feeling. Photo by Maraleis Sinton, senior

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F

ROM TYPICAL URBAN AND rural life to the electric atmosphere of impassioned activist marches, student street photographers capture fleeting moments that are often overlooked. These candid photos usually feature people in city streets, but this style is highly flexible and up to the photographer’s interpretation.

Street photography lends itself to incorporating a variety of techniques, such as film, lens blur and changing the shutter speed to transform a mundane subject into art. In this collection, several Palo Alto High School student photographers showcase their own take on street photography with shots from around the world. v

SAN FRANCISCO, CA The photo features a minute, loving interaction between a parent and her child at a protest, with a crowd of other activists in the background.

Drawing the eye immediately to the young girl’s face, her eye contact leads the viewer to her parent and finally zig-zags down to their sign. This emphasizes the message that they are rallying for: kids not guns. Their warm smiles strengthen the photo by making the viewer connect with their cause. Photo by Patille Papas, senior

TOKYO, JAPAN This image of locals eating at a counter highlights a routine aspect of their lives, but the composition brings more meaning to it. The unconventional shot from behind is offset by the repeated pattern of three:: the three diners, the three lit lanterns, and the horizontal lines dividing the composition into thirds. The various blue, white and yellow hues contrast with the bold-type Japanese characters on the banner. .

Photo by Natalie Schilling, junior

NEW YORK CITY, NY The graininess of the film photo adds character to shot, while the contrasting black and white scheme draws attention to the shadows and highlights. The photo depicts a bustling urban street in New York City, with crowds of people passing by and a road full of cars. Amid the chaos, it focuses on two physically similar men, identically dressed, one gesturing, one on a cell phone.

The juxtaposition of the two men efffectively underscores a mundane part of their day on the job. Photo

by Ryan Gwyn, senior

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a home away from home

FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES IN PALO ALTO Text and photo by MEGAN CHAI

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may 2019

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HAT I WAS MOST SURPRISED to miss was the music in Guatemala,” says Palo Alto High School senior Celine Boissy, an exchange student. “When you’re walking up the street, there’s that salsa dancing music … it’s kind of weird to go out here [in Palo Alto] and not have that liveliness and energy.”

But senior Eleonora Susi, an exchange student from Italy, says that appreciates the quiet environment of Palo Alto, which differs from the lifestyle she had living in a big city.

Boissy and Susi are close friends who met each other living as exchange students this school year. Although Boissy and Susi are both attending Paly, they come from very different backgrounds — one from the mountainous terrain of Guatemala, another from the bustling urban landscape of Italy — and in turn have encountered very different experiences.

In Guatemala, high school officially ends in 11th grade. Although the international school Boissy attended offered 12th grade, there would have been only two other students in her class.

Now, residing in a busy suburban town in America without the company of her parents is a stark contrast to the familiarity of Boissy’s hometown in rural Guatemala.

“I grew up on a lake where the only way you could get to my house was by a boat,” says Boissy.

“I loved the sounds of the crickets in nature.”

For Susi, going abroad for her fourth year of high school was always a dream, but living in Palo Alto also meant adjusting to an unfamiliar culture.

“There are some habits that Americans have … it’s so silly, but like having dinner at six,” Susi says. “It’s … crazy. In Europe, or in Italy at least,

we have dinner at 9:30 p.m., we finish at 10:30 p.m. and then we study and go to bed at midnight.”

Despite having to become accustomed to a new lifestyle in Palo Alto, Susi has enjoyed her school experience at Paly. From the excitement of Spirit Week to the support she has received from teachers and peers, these new opportunities have allowed her to challenge herself at Paly.

“I learned to be doing many things on my own ... to be completely independent,” says Susi. “At my old school, there were no community service or clubs. I learned to deal with many things on my own ... [even though] I was a shy person.”

The competitive academic environment at Paly did not dissuade Boissy from facing difficult endeavors. Coming from a school of just 60 students, Boissy says that attending Paly, which has over 2,000 students, has taught her to be more aware of her peers.

“The one I learned most is how to be humble … not in the sense of being humble of what you own, but more of being humble with those surrounding you,” says Boissy.

People even discouraged Boissy from moving to Palo Alto, fearing that it would be too competitive and would ruin her chances of attending a good college.

Ultimately, these foreign adventures in Palo Alto have translated into important learning experiences for both Susi and Boissy.

“The lesson I learned that coming here and being able to succeed in advance the way I wanted was that you shouldn’t listen to people and what they say,” says Boissy. “A lot of people can discourage you from achieving your dreams … but if you focus and really believe in yourself, you can really do it.” v

“A lot of people can discourage you from achieving your dreams … but if you focus and really believe in yourself, you can really do it.”

— CELINE BOISSY, senior

BEST BUDS Palo Alto High School seniors Celine Boissy (left) and Eleonora Susi (right) are exchange students who have moved to Palo Alto for their final year of high school. “I’m glad that there were other exchange students [at Paly],” says Susi. “If you come in senior year, it’s difficult to get really close friendships. People are friendly, but ... [they] have already have their group of friends.”

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HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA Photo by Juliet Ablaza

LANDING

STUDENT TRAVEL PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Email your travel photos to viaverdemagazine@gmail.com to be featured.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Photo by Grace Rowell

HAVANA, CUBA Photo by Elise Adamson

BANGKOK, THAILAND Photo by Soumya Jhaveri

LOMBOK, INDONESIA Photo by Andrew Bernas

POINT PINOS, CALIFORNIA Photo by Lucy Volino

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA Photo by Megan Chai