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Stevens travels to China, immerses in culture
C hris G arfield _____________
Contributing Writer
Michelle Stevens, junior,
had the opportunity to
experience something many
of us probably will never have
the chance to do. She lived
in Shekou, Shenzhen, China
for seven months last school
year. She attended WLHS as a
freshman and at the beginning
of her sophomore year, but
moved to China due to her
dad's business. During her stay,
she lived in a hotel apartment
with her parents and three of
her sisters.
Stevens witnessed a different
way of life in China, which
she found to be almost the
complete opposite of what she
had grown used to in sheltered
West Linn.
"It was really eye opening (to
see) how people live in China,
with their different culture and
customs," Stevens said.
Stevens volunteered at an
orphanage and experienced
first-hand the lives of young
orphans in China. They live
in extremely small spaces
with very limited resources,
something that Stevens wasn't
used to.
"It was also strange for me
because people would stop
and stare at me because I have
blonde hair and blue eyes,
something that isn't seen very
often in China."
Stevens attended Shekou
International School during
her stay where she took a
variety of classes that she
wouldn't normally have been
able to take in the United
States, such as Chinese
Language and Asian History.
She really enjoyed learning
the Chinese language, even
though it was incredibly
difficult, and hopes to pursue
similar classes in America.
During her stay in China
she acted as a tourist as
well as a citizen. She visited
popular tourist sites such as
The Great Wall of China, Gobe
Dessert and the Buddhist
and 'Spiky' Mountains. But
her favorite place to visit was
Hong Kong because of the
shopping and excitement of
the city.
She ate a variety of
food that she mostly liked,
however some she found
less appetizing. She tried
foods such as camel, chicken
intestine and cow's tongue.
"The food wouldn't have
Michelle Stevens, junior, and her mom, Tina, raft in Guilin, China.
The family lived there for seven months during the previous school
year and traveled extensively, sightseeing throughout the country.
Photo submitted by Michelle Stevens
tasted bad if I wasn't told
what I was eating," Stevens
said. "Most of the food tasted
chewy and had different
texture."
This year Stevens is back
for her junior year, and
she has really enjoyed her
experience so far.
"It's really nice because the
schools are so much bigger
here, but it's also kind of
overwhelming because I don't
feel like I can get to know
people as well," she said.
Stevens made many
new friends in China and
continues to keep in contact
with them. She is grateful that
she was given the opportunity
to be immersed in such
a unique and fascinating
culture.
"I really enjoyed my
experience in China and hope
to visit (again) in the future,"
Stevens said.
Snapp donates kidney to save brother's life; both in good health
u J oseph M iller & L exi W elp
Staff Reporters
Toni Snapp, Education
R esource C enter D ep artm en t
Chair, knew her brother,
Kevin Tarkalson, needed
help and he needed it fast
when his kidneys began to
fail at an alarming rate. In
a short period of time, his
kidneys were functioning at
only 19%. Snapp, a perfect
match, underwent surgery in
June to donate her kidney to
her brother.
The transplant went
successfully, and Snapp and
Tarkalson came out in good
condition. Snapp spent four
days in the hospital and is
in good heath. Tarkalson
also is in good heath and
returned back to work in
mid-September after a long
recovery. His kidney started
working right after it was
put in—this usually doesn't
happen until a couple days
later.
Before the transplant,
Tarkalson had to stop
working because his
condition affected his eye
sight, and he became unable
to drive. He was also put on
dialysis, which took three to
four hours a day. Even then,
he focused on being healthy,
making it hard for him to
keep a regular schedule.
"Automatically I stepped
up to be a donor. It's a small
sacrifice for saving my
brother," Snapp said before
the operation. Snapp had to
start preparing immediately.
She was required to detox
her body and exercise before
the surgery. Snapp began six
months before the big day.
According to Snapp, she
was not going to do anything
to jeopardize her and her
brother's health. Snapp also
had to go through m any
tests to make sure her's and
Tarkalson's kidneys were still
a perfect match.
The day before the
operation on June 11, Snapp
went through preparation
for the transplant. She first
gave 10 to 15 vials of blood
to make sure that Tarkalson's
blood wouldn't react to
Snapp's. She also underwent
other testing before her
surgery.
"I couldn't go there, I just
had to stay positive," Snapp
said about her thinking on
possible outcomes of the
surgery. During the surgery,
Snapp's left kidney connected
to Tarkalson's major arteries.
Snapp also took transplant
and dialysis -classes to he
prepared for the operation.
The issues related to
Tarkalson's condition will
eventually improve and his
life expectancy will increase
by 18 to 30 years due to
the transplant. Snapp will
be perfectly fine with one
kidney.
Tarkalson's ability to
surpass this struggle has
earned him a great amount of
respect from his sister.
"My admiration for him
was always high, but going
through this process has made
him my hero," Snapp said.
"She gave the ultimate
gift to her brother," Tana
Dearborn, science department
chair, said. Staff members
donated money and she wag,
eventually presented w ith^p^
Toni Snapp, Education Resource
C e n te r D e p a rtm e n t C h air,
donated one of her kidneys to
save her brother’s life. She and
her brother have recovered and
are in good health.
Photo by Malia Chong
cards and cash so she could
do something nice with her
family.
Snapp hopes to use this
experience to educate her
students. She wants to spread
the knowledge so that more
people can become educated
on the topic.
"People with diabetes need
to see their doctor yearly, they
need to keep a healthy diet,
and need to stay healthy,"
Snapp said. "Unexpected
events happen, and we all
need to be prepared."