Look out, Europe!
Zhan to Take Bobcats Abroad
Name a better combination than traveling in Europe and spending time with Mrs. Zhan. I will wait.
If you’ve come up empty with a better lineup, then traveling Switzerland and Italy with art and Spanish teacher Mrs. Rachel Zhan July 5 seems like the perfect place for you.
Pairing up with the company Educational Tourism, Mrs. Zhan is planning a scenic and fun tour starting in the Swiss Alps, driving through Italy, and ending in Rome.
Mrs. Zahn explained: “We fly into Switzerland. We’re going to Lake Lucerne, driving through the Swiss Alps. We are taking a charter bus, one of the nice cushy ones with the lean-back seats so we can nap in between cities.”
After Switzerland, Mrs. Zahn said, “We are going to bus from Switzerland down to Italy and stop in Venice, and then Florence, then day trips to Assisi and Pisa, and then Roma will be our last trip where we will fly out of Rome.”
“Switzerland to Florence is our longest drive at about six and a half hours. So, navigating through all of those places, the longest will be on the bus at that point (which is prime sleeping time!)” Mrs. Zhan points out.
There are so many benefits to traveling.
Mrs. Zhan highlighted with a laugh that “traveling when someone else plans all the details for you will probably never happen again in your life!”
She has designed the trip so that “if you bring your passport, and probably clean underwear, and show up at the airport, I have done everything else.”
This luxurious “all planned trip” is really all planned out. Every ticket is booked, all the entrances to museums, entrance fees to everything, the bus (might I add, the comfy coach bus with reclining seats!) and of course the meals.
The trip is an all-inclusive price, meaning that it includes the flight, the hotel rooms … coming to a total of around $5,000 for students and around $6,000 for adults. For insurance reasons, the adult price is higher.
Mrs. Zhan shared that “As expensive as it is, I am comfortable because I know all of the things that it includes. It covers your international insurance, and it's a good deal with all the stuff they have included in the trip.”
Another reason why students should highly consider going on this amazing experience is the fact you never know when you’ll have another opportunity to travel again.
“Traveling in school is almost always better since you get a lot of deals and there’s a lot of security that goes along with it. There’s someone who speaks the language with you too. We have a tour guide who is native to Italy, and they will be with us 24/7. It’s nice to have somebody who is a local who can take you to not just the touristy places.”
Other benefits to traveling as a high school student include the phrase we know all too well: college credit. And yes, you can get credit for taking a flight and seeing the beautiful scenery.
The company Educational Tourism (who you may or may not have seen stalking you on Instagram with their gap year program) offers students the opportunity to add college credit, as well as building a portfolio. If you’re an artist, and you go on a trip and take great pictures, you can turn them into a portfolio and contact EF’s education department. From there, they can give you a formal letter that you can put towards a portfolio and then do the college credit that goes along with it.
Traveling also builds “cultural competency,” as Mrs. Zhan puts it. “You learn how to be an equitable traveler: doing it the right way, making sure you're tipping locals, and acting right.”
When trying to convince parents to let you embark on such a far away journey, Mrs. Zhan says it's important to share information, which she does through informational meetings. She shares all of her experience with students and their experiences, which are plenty!
Mrs. Zhan is no stranger to traveling. She has been traveling for ten years, whether it be for studying, for fun, or service-oriented work. For eight years, Mrs. Zhan has traveled accompanied by students, and she has seen it all.
“If you ask me, ‘Has something happened to me while traveling?’ I would say yes. I’ve had a kid forget a passport, and even dealt with a kid having a seizure in the middle of the jungle.” She laughs, sharing, “I’ve kinda seen any variety of things that could happen.”
She always ends her pitch to parents with “If you're not sure, come along with us!”
Currently, there are four parent chaperones attending the trip with their children. Mrs. Zhan encourages them to come because she believes that travel is for everybody.
If all this trip talk is inspiring you to pack your bags, keep in mind that you still need to get your passport!
“If you already have your passport, you can decide up until April if you want to attend the trip. If you have not applied for a passport yet, those can take up to four months to get, so that decision should be made as soon as possible,” Mrs. Zhan recommends.
Fundraisers for the trip will be in the form of “experience nights” where a local Italian restaurant will be transformed to let parents and students learn phrases in Italian, and even hear some guest speakers.
The ten-day experience in Europe is an experience you don’t want to miss. Contact Mrs. Zhan with any questions or check out the EF webpage!