With school in session, a part of everyone still wishes it were summer, no matter how fun school has been. This past summer, SDA students travelled the globe to exotic places, even though the typical kid just chilled here at the beaches of Encinitas.
Tessa Shabram, senior, got the opportunity to go backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas when her sister Megan offered her to join the trip that she and her college friends were taking. At first, Shabram admitted, the trip had its difficulties. Dealing with altitude sickness, dehydration and the massive swarms of mosquitoes due to the mating season, Shabram sometimes experienced misery.
In fact, Shabram at times experienced moments of anxiety and said that she once had “feelings of death up in the mountains with no help nearby to resuscitate you.” She once even saw signs of a bear, a large footprint a few hundreds of yards nearby. After that, she took cautious measures and tied up her food and toothpaste in the trees at night.
However, the trip eventually improved when she got to hike up mountains, cross raging rivers, walk through forests and at night, gaze into the starry skies and breath in the clean fresh air. During her trip, she climbed an average of 8 miles up hill per day with 30 lbs. of survival gear.
Her favorite part she recalled was “getting to the climax of the mountains. I felt a sense of accomplishment at the summit.” In addition, Shabram felt that this trip was different than most in that she became stronger, both physically and mentally. Dealing with the physical rigor of climbing and psychological hardships of being outside of her sheltered suburban life made Shabram a tougher, more experienced person.
Seniors Sam Caras and Sam Houskeeper got the lifetime chance to visit Honduras and serve the community through the Mis Amigos programs. Caras travelled to La Paz, Honduras where for six weeks she got to live with a host family and serve the community. The family she lived with was an all-female clan with whom she bonded with well.
While there, Caras attended meetings at the high school, taught children environmental topics, hiked mountains and visited farms. She got to build a science room for the high school and experience the culture that’s unlike the sheltered suburban life of Encinitas.
“I got really close to the family over time,” Caras said.. “I definitely plan to stay in touch with them.”
The community of La Paz lacked indoor plumbing and high-tech electricity. The rooms had one bulb each and a single wood-burning stove occupied the kitchen. While in Honduras, Caras also got to experience more serious issues, such as funerals for the locals who died from being crushed by rocks and the stillborn baby whose family’s house was adjacent to hers.
In addition, she got to perform a traditional dance with her host cousins, dancing in a floor length skirt with flowered weaved in her hair.
“I plan to go back there in the future, maybe in college,” Caras said.
Houskeeper got to travel to Honduras, but he went to the community of Santa Catarina, a rural village that lies on the outskirts of the more affluent city La Esperanza. In the town, he lived with the Gonzales family, a large family of eight that stretched three generations. During the day he taught health to the Kindergarteners and built a playground for the school.
“They were such cute kids, around four to six,” Houskeeper said, beaming
During his trip, Houskeeper ate basic, staple foods and also hiked the beautiful mountains. From his trip he learned that he’s capable of living with less and that many people need help in this world.
“Everyone should spend time helping others,” Houskeeper said.
His favorite thing there was trekking through the forests and hiking until he reached the summit of the mountains. Both Caras and Houskeeper spoke Spanish while there, communicating well with the natives and getting along well with them.
As souvenirs, Caras got a hand knife and Houskeeper got a blue soccer jersey, since Honduras had competed in the World Cup this year. Both of them recommend that students with an interest in culture, learning and community service join the Amigos program.
Sophomore Josh Tuffs got to travel to Egypt for three weeks with his family this summer. After traveling on planes for over 18 hours, he finally arrived in a land that had some of the most exotic places in the world. He visited Cairo, Giza, the Nile River, the great Pyramids and other historical sites. Tuffs recalled the weather being really hot during the day and really cold at night but it was relatively calm weather with not many sandstorms.
While in Egypt, he stayed in a hotel and ate foods similar to Greek foods, like gyros. “The best part of Egypt was the sightseeing and the history. It was definitely a one time thing that I got to experience,” said Tuffs.
While there, he got to tour the pyramids, meet local peoples, swim in the Nile River and collect a few souvenirs. Tuffs witnessed “the most beautiful sunsets” he’s ever seen such as the Egyptian sun over the Nile.
He didn’t get to ride any camels though since “there were scam artists there who would take tourists out far into the desert then demand more money if these people wanted to get back.” Regardless of the camels, Josh still enjoyed his trip to Egypt, a rare opportunity in which he got to experience an unusual, unique land of mystique.
“I highly recommend it. Also it’s a pretty cheap conversion rate of 3:1 so financially Egypt is affordable.” With this in mind, a trip to Egypt may be what students needs this year, with all the stresses of homework and dealing with friends and family.