During February vacation, AP World History students traveled to Greece and Rome to visit ancient landmarks, while Spanish students traveled to Costa Rica for a service trip. Each trip only lasted a quick seven days, but they were trips of a lifetime.   

Fifty of this year and last year’s AP World History students traveled to Rome, Italy on Thursday afternoon of Feb. 22, and then flew to Greece on Feb. 26 after spending a few days in Italy. “I decided to go on this trip because I wanted to see what Italian and Greek culture were like. Also, I love Italian food, so I wanted to see if it actually tastes better in Italy and if so, how much better,” said Ian Babcock ‘19.

The next morning, 24 Spanish students left for Costa Rica to complete a service trip as well as enjoy and embrace the Central American culture. “My biggest dream is to travel the world, so I wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to go somewhere new. I knew we were going to do a bunch of activities like zip lining, touring places and beach days, so that’s amazing,” said Camille Walch ‘19.

The trips were structured so students did as much as they possibly could during their time abroad. AP World History teacher and trip chaperone, Jennifer Given, said that the Rome and Greece trip was tied to their curriculum, so students were able to visually see what they have been learning about all year.

School trips are very different compared to going abroad with family. The Spain trip last year also had a large amount of activities planned for the students attending. “It was great to be able to experience a new culture with friends from school and walking around in big cities alone with a couple friends is something I wouldn’t have experienced with my family. Also, everything was planned out to the minute, which also had its pros and cons. We fit a lot into a short amount of time, which was tiring, but I really feel like I got so much out of the trip!” said Rachel Cerato ‘19.

Students also got to learn more about the cultures that they have been learning about all year. “I was excited to practice speaking Spanish as much as possible. There were a lot of opportunities to use the language and better myself as a Spanish student,” said Walch. Walch and her fellow  attendees completed projects in order to leave a positive impact on the communities in the country. “We went digging for seeds, and then later planted them to ‘Restore the Shore’ and bring more wildlife to Costa Rica. We also participated in a local exchange, so I was super excited to meet and talk to local kids and people and getting a sense for their culture.”

All the students and chaperones on the trips enjoyed every moment, as there was a lot to do in a short period of time. The Rome and Greece trip was a “whirlwind,” and everyone was trying new things, made friends with others on the trip, spoke to the locals, and learned new things about themselves. The students were given a lot of free time to roam around to discover things on their own, and they were aware that they wouldn’t be back anytime soon, so they did as much as they could, according to Given.

The Social Studies department is now planning a trip to Budapest, Vienna, and Prague in the Summer of 2019, and French students will be taking a trip to Paris and Normandy during April break in 2019.