Does anyone remember Harald? Harald Eiken went to Blake for the 2011-12 school year. He was from Lund, Sweden and was a part of the Class of 2013. During his time at Blake, he gained academic skills that he says still have a huge impact on his education today. His year in Minnesota naturally improved his English as well, which he said is a great advantage.

Eiken is still in contact with most of his close friends from Blake; he stated he is confident they will remain his lifelong friends. In fact, He spent most of this summer traveling around Europe with former Blake students Caroline Hunsicker ’13, Aileen Ugurbil ’13 and Alex Herkert ’13. He said the transition back to life in Sweden was not too bad because he remained in contact with his close friends. Right now, he is in his senior year of high school in Lund (Enskilda Gymnasiet) and will graduate this spring.

Lucy Wu came to Blake last school year. She immersed herself in the community by creating her own paper-cutting club and was also a part of Community Service Board. While at Blake, she was in the Class of 2014 and had three different host families—the Boatmans, the Frenkels and the Clarks. At Blake, she credits her English and History teachers for being able to think below the surface of texts and all the teachers and students for welcoming her to Blake’s community. Her fondest memory of Blake was being a part of the band tour in Chicago. She had never been a member of a band before and this tour made her feel that she was a part of the group. Right now, she is in a special program in school for students applying to college abroad. She only has to go to school two days a week because she does not have to take the China’s college admission test, the Gaokao. She is not able to communicate with friends very easily because Facebook is illegal in China, so she would like her friends from Blake to email her at [email protected] up.