By Megan Murphy
Reporter
Next March, several Crowder students will be traveling abroad for their annual spring break. The International Program is offering an England, Ireland, and Wales excursion through the Education First (EF) educational tours program.
“I’m hoping that [students] gain perspective, a little bit of a taste of different cultures, get to see wonderful sights that look much diffe
rent from, you know, here,” said Sarah Horine, international program coordinator. “I hope they gain friendships, and that want to learn for a lifetime.”
The nine-day tour will begin in Shannon, Ireland and continue on to well-known places such as Blarney Castle and Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The tour group will travel through Wales into England, visiting places like William Shakespeare’s birthplace and Oxford. The penultimate day of the tour will showcase the city of London and its world-famous landmarks such as Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
“I’m looking forward to going to probably [Wales],” said Alexis Blankenship, vet tech major. “I’ve heard that there’s a lot of great culture over there, so that’s kind of really exciting to me. I’m really pretty big on culture; I think it’s really fantastic.”
Due to the diverse contrast between the United States and the United Kingdom, students will be briefed on cultural differences prior to departing.
“We break it down into meetings, about three or four before the trip where we talk about cultural differences,” Horine said. “We try to address everything. What’s great is EF tours also does that, and so they’ll be providing us webinars and information throughout this journey.”
A major consideration for students thinking about going is the cost, estimated to be around $3,700. Fundraising will be available to students as a way to offset the cost of the trip. Nothing concrete has been finalized yet, but according to Horine, there will be several options for students to raise money to go.
“It does take a village sometimes to get things done,” she said. She also suggested that perhaps students could make a case to local organizations such as Rotary Club for a sponsorship.
“I plan on putting a little bit of my own money in there for the help and support,” Blankenship said. “I know we’re planning on doing a lot of fundraising, so I’m [taking] every step I [can].”
Other important things for students to think about include their comfortability with air travel, bus travel and close quarters with other members of the group. “Those are some things to really examine if it’s right for you,” said Horine.
The tour will be chaperoned by employees Julie Dobbs and Melinda Rantz.
For more information, contact Sarah Horine by e-mail at SarahHorine@crowder.edu.
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