For many college students, spring break is the perfect time to celebrate the halfway point in the semester by taking a trip with friends and forgetting about their worries. This week, students were asked where they would go and what they would do for the vacation if they could choose any destination.
For Anisha Naidu, a second-year CHE major, the perfect spring break getaway would involve a combination of spending time with some friends involved an on-campus organization while making new friends abroad.
“For this spring break I would really love to go to Puerto Rico, because I have a group of friends in AIESEC at Tech who are going down and will be connecting with the members from the chapter there. Besides that, being in Puerto Rico for the break would be great because it’s warm, there’s the beach and a really fun atmosphere for dancing and relaxing where you can forget about the stresses of Tech for a while,” Naidu said.
A trip to Europe would make for an exciting retreat for other students. As an example, a culturally enriching European spring break experience might feature significant historic sites.
“I’d like to see Europe for the architecture.”
“I would go to Spain, mostly because I want to see the Alhambra. I’ve always felt that it’s a very interesting intersection between the Muslim culture was once there and the Spanish culture that was developing at the time. The architecture and the history are really unique; a lot of people probably think of Europe as being very Romanesque, I think, but it’s interesting to see the influences of a culture that’s so far away from Spain that you wouldn’t usually associate the two,” said Christine Olsen, a second-year LMC major.
The Alhambra is a palace fortress located in Granada, Andalusia. It is known to be one of Spain’s most popular tourist attractions for its distinct artistic style and construction.
Ben Belden, a fourth-year BA and HTS major, briefly visited the Scottish city of Edinburgh while on a trip to Oxford in England and would like to repeat the experience in the future.
“Edinburgh was my favorite city that we visited…the pubs in town were great, and the people were really nice too. We also went on a tour of the Scottish countryside while we were there, and it would be cool to go on a camping trip for a few days. We were only there for a weekend, so I’d like to go back but I don’t know when I’ll have the chance,” Belden said.
A second visit to a European getaway destination was also what Meghana Melkote, a first-year ID major, had in mind for her ideal vacation spot. She sees this as an opportunity to spend time in Italy with her Italian-speaking relatives.
“I’ve been to Italy before, but I really like the culture and there are a lot of places that I haven’t been to in Italy yet,” Melkote said.
With so many alternatives for spending the break abroad, Corinna Slater, a first-year CE major, would be satisfied with virtually any foreign destination.
“I’d love to visit any place that I’ve never been to before. I really want to see New York, and Alaska would be nice for the landscape. I’d like to see Europe for the architecture, but unlike a lot of people I wouldn’t want to go to the beach because I don’t like the jellyfish,” Slater said.
“Spending a week in Hawaii would be great.”
More along the lines of what many people think of when it comes to college students’ spring break plans, partying on the beach with friends is many students idea of a perfect spring break trip.
“I’d love to go to the beach with friends…spending a week in Hawaii would be great, but I’ll actually just be hanging out at home,” said Jane Erickson, a first year EE major.