By Preston Thue
Staff Writer
In sixth grade, one Costa student experienced the once in a lifetime oppertunity to travel the world in hopes of gaining a new perspecive on life.
Costa freshman Jonas Wahlstedt was taken out of school in 6th grade to travel across the world and experience living in different countries. According to his mother, she wanted him to recieve a different type of eduction. An education of the world around us.
“I learned a lot about other countries and how the people live,” Wahlstedt said. “I believe that a lot of people in America think only about America and don’t fully understand how the rest of the world operates.”
Wahlstedt visited Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, South Africa and Western Europe, along with several other places. While in the various countries, Wahlstedt went on dozens of fascinating excursions.
“Be adventurous,” Wahlstedt said. “You probably aren’t going to get to do the stuff again so just enjoy yourself.”
Throughout the trip, Wahlstedt’s parents, along with online courses, were able to supply him with a formal education. Although online courses provided all the basic courses, the main goal of the trip was to learn things students aren’t able to learn inside a classroom. His parents wanted to give him a hands-on approach to prepare him for the real world.
“I wanted to give my children a different perspective on the world and show them different cultures and how people live, a different form of education,” Wahlstedt’s mother Terrie said.
Studying abroad always looks good on college admissions, in addition to many other benefits, like picking up a new language, or the fact that graduate school admissions boards look highly upon studies abroad.
“We did homeschooling, like math, english, science and language,” Wahlstedt said. “I wasn’t that behind in school when I came back.”
While in Australia, Jonas went to see Ayers Rock and visited the Opera House in Sydney. While in Tokyo, he ate authentic sushi and he visited the Colosseum in Rome.
“Japan was probably my favorite country because it’s so far away and it’s so different and just awesome,” Wahlstedt said. “It’s very clean and almost futuristic, and people aren’t loud or obnoxious. People are very quiet and to themselves and orderly and a little robotic almost.”
Wahlstedt was able to do countless remarkable activities while on his trip. In New Zealand, he went bungee jumping, which he remembers as one of his favorite experiences. He also visited Johannesburg and Kruger, South Africa. While he and his family were in Australia, he ate kangaroo.
“I enjoyed the different cultures and experiences I had during my trip, it was pretty awesome,” Wahlstedt’s younger brother Finn said.
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