A voyage to Seoul, South Korea, Thanksgiving dinner in California, and perhaps some grading while in the skies on the way home. This is how Upper School Spanish teacher Ms. Vanessa Zamudio-Lara’s Thanksgiving break looked.
Ms. Zamudio-Lara was visiting her son, Mr. Adrian Riesgo-Zamudio ‘20, and daughter, Ms. Sammy Riesgo-Zamudio ‘22.
“Due to their limitations in their academic schedule, it was impossible for them to spend Thanksgiving break with me, so I decided to visit them,” Ms. Zamudio-Lara stated. Her son, a student at Macalester College, was studying abroad in South Korea.
Ms. Zamudio-Lara said she enjoyed revisiting South Korea because of its beauty and immersive culture.
“Korea is an extremely respectful, organized and disciplined society, some of the qualities that I appreciate the most, so I feel that my admiration for their culture has been magnified by this trip,” she said. “I am absolutely in love with Korea and its culture, and I can perfectly understand why my son wanted to study there.”
On the way to Seoul, she took a quick two-day excursion to visit her daughter in Claremont, California. Her daughter is currently a sophomore at Pomona College. She was not only able to spend quality time with her daughter, but explore the town’s landmarks as well.
“I was able to take advantage of every single minute of it, learned a lot of new things, and most importantly, spent time with the two halves of my heart, my adorable children,” Ms. Zamudio-Lara said.
Mr. Scott Lambert, director of Visual and Performing Arts, spent seven days exploring France with his wife, Upper School English teacher and department head Mrs. Kate Lambert.
Their trip centered around cheering on their son, Mr. Ashton Lambert, ‘18, who is currently a dancer in the international tour of “West Side Story.”
“The production is performing in Paris for three months, and we wanted to see it before it returns in March while also visiting our son,” Mr. Lambert said.
A few tourist highlights from Mr. and Mrs. Lambert’s trip were touring the Orangerie Museum, an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist artists, and the Père Lachaise Cemetery, the most-visited necropolis in the world.
“We saw the burial place of some of the greatest artists of all time, including Oscar Wilde, Moliere, Georges Seurat, Chopin, and so many more,” Mr. Lambert said.
The Lamberts also enjoyed unique cuisine and souvenirs.
“I came back with an awesome new wool gingham jacket that I love,” he said.
