Feature Photo By: Stephanie Pickens – A poster advertising the EF Tours trip hangs on a board. Mrs. Bradford and Ms. Kay are organizing the trip. Check out their slideshow for more info on the trip.  

By: Stephanie Pickens and Rediet Ayanaw, Review Staff

Traveling is a grand open doorway to not only seeing the world but what it provides and the cultures that encircle it.

In March of 2020, Rangeview joins EF Tours on a trip exploring the major cities and touristy spots in Italy from Milan, Florence, and Venice to Pompeii, and of course, the capital Rome. The trip consists of 12 days packed with activities and sightseeing from morning to evening.

“I’m super excited about this trip for a variety of reasons: Italy is absolutely beautiful, rich in history, and I want to learn some Italian since it’s similar to Spanish. I’m also trying to learn from Melissa Bradford, one of our French teachers, about how to successfully lead a trip for students,” says Ms. Kay- one of the teachers organizing the trip.  

Where some find leisure in vacationing, there are other students that just are not interested in the trip for personal reasons.

“I feel like it would be better for me to visit more colleges rather than go to a different country,” said Junior Kathy Pham. “I could go on a vacation, but it’s just not really practical for me.”

Pham is going to be a senior next year, and she wants to have as much time as possible preparing for college, instead of using this time to go to another country.

“Traveling just gets you to move around,” said Matthew Samuel Silalahi, a junior at Rangeview High School. “It helps you become more humble about the things you have when you see different cultures and different experiences.” Traveling to Italy or another country, in general, has a lot of benefits.

Italy is known to have many tourist attraction sites. Such sights may include: Leaning Tower of Pisa; Pompeii; Venice Canals; and the Colosseum. Many of these places are very known in films, history classrooms, and everyday life. So there actually is an educational benefit to traveling to Italy as well as the vacational part of it.

With benefits also comes obstacles- however. The big obstacle in this trip that most people think about when they hear about this trip, is the money. The trip adds up to be a little over $3500, prior to the amount of the spending money added during excursions and souvenir shopping once you actually reach the country.

“I feel like it would be better to save that money for college,” said Pham. “Seeing new perspectives, meeting new people, and understanding customs that we don’t know or have in America are benefits to traveling though.”

Although the price may discourage and keep people from being able to go on this trip, it shouldn’t be a complete handicap for a passion to travel in general. Money does get you farther- literally in this situation; however, traveling doesn’t necessarily mean international or exotic.

“I do think money should be a valid reason not to go,” said Pham. “There are some people who can’t go for that reason alone.” Some people think that not having enough money for the trip is the end of it, but there are fundraisers going on for people who might not have enough money. “However, I think college summer programs are a good way for fundraising money,” added Pham.

Traveling in itself also shows many health benefits. According to The Yale Tribune, traveling exposes you to different environments which in turn helps your immune system and creates stronger antibodies. Being exposed to dirty or minor illnesses actually helps your body to be more grounded.

“This is an amazing opportunity,” said Ms. Kay. “You’re going to see so many beautiful places and architecture; try delicious food, and learn so much about the history of the world.”

Many people also associate traveling with happiness and freedom. Going on trips and making new memories is shown to have more of a positive influence than spending money.

“Traveling teaches you so much about yourself,” Ms. Kay continues. “Nothing compares to learning about another culture, and there’s no better way to do that than traveling.”

There is always a handful of students who are interested in going every year. If you can’t make it on this trip next year, Rangeview holds an international trip every year.

In the end, traveling in itself has many positive results, and Rangeview offers traveling experiences if the opportunity is taken.