August 1-10, Señor Ross will be leading yet another summer trip out of the country. Two years ago he lead a very successful trip to Costa Rica — hopefully this one will be just as great.
Señor Ross has lead seven trips in total, and this year’s trip will be heading to London, Paris, and Madrid — his first multi-country adventure. The countdown to the trip has begun as the weather starts to improve and the summer months are coming into view.
Students going on the trip this summer are excited to travel to Europe in a few short months. Emma Holloway, sophomore, said she is most excited for the opportunity “to enhance her Spanish speaking skills” that she has learned at school. Reagan Norvell, sophomore, said she is most excited to “see all the different cities and the food, of course I’m excited for the food”.
Reagan Norvelle and Emma Holloway are in the same spanish class, and both are ready to tryout the language in a noncontrolled environment, making Spain the country they are both looking forward to the most.
Sarah Chappell, junior, on the other hand said, “she has never traveled out of the country before, and excited to go to Paris [because it is a new experience]”.
Ross has continued to lead the trips because he likes traveling and even more than that, he “likes seeing students, most [he] knows before the trip in one way or another, experience new situations and have growing experiences where they see how Spanish can affect their life outside of the classroom, and they see how the cultures we have studied about actually are in a first hand setting. Plus, it is a lot of fun.”
Students who embark on the trip definitely remember the experience, but “the shared experience” said Ross, makes it even more memorable.
The trip, for some, is their first trip without parents. Because of this, students learn from the experience how to be more independent and responsible.
“In college they may go abroad, and in some way they will build off [of their experiences] and the joy of the trip again, and again, and again later on in life,” said Ross.
It is impossible for Ross to pick his favorite trip out of the seven soon to be eight adventures. His first two trips were to Spain and they were tons of fun because he has never been, and the “kids were phenomenal,” said Ross. “On the very first trip there was a kid that went on that trip. It was my second year teaching, She later on wound up going to the same college that I went to, and she is now a Spanish teacher, so that’s really cool,” said Ross. The experiences shape students and affect them in a personal way.
The trips have helped connect Ross with long lost friends. For example, the travel agent he talked with for the trip to Puerto Rico was hallmate of his in college. They had lost touch for almost fifteen years, and he was able to catch up on the trip. Another trip Ross lead was to Mexico, an unreal experience for him. He went as a college student on an archeological dig, gaining experiences of his own, and now he is the one supplying the experiences to his students.
“London, Paris, Madrid this summer is going to be cool because Mrs. Scioli, Mr. Hunt, and Mr. Broer and I have been friends for fifteen years or more,” said Ross. “[This trip is going to be great because we] are taking a group of twenty-six, and we are working with two other schools where I have friends who teach, so it is a totally different dynamic [because] there are all these schools working together, and we are going to three different countries, which I have never done before.”
The trip is costly (about $4000) but will be worth it. Experiences that students create and take part of stay with them for a lifetime.
“The trip is expensive, but you can’t do this trip the same way that we can do it for less, it’s impossible,” said Ross.
London, Paris, Madrid will be an unforgettable adventure for students. They will learn and see culture through experience rather than a textbook. Instead of seeing pictures and videos of Flamenco Dancing, students have the opportunity, while in Spain, to watch it.
