Spring break 2014. The much anticipated and yearned for week in April, where students receive a week off of school after what, to some, seemed like a never-ending month of March. For certain Brookfield Central students, they were especially ecstatic for the arrival of spring break, seeing as they were going to have the opportunity to travel across seas, break out their passports, and see and try new foods, cultures, and cities. Kathryn Stief, Advait Reddy, and Austin Norton are just a few of the students who fall into this category.

Flying across the Atlantic, junior Kathryn Stief arrived at her destination of Italy. She got the chance to explore Rome and another small city called Parma. When questioned about what her favorite part of the trip was, she replied, “Throwing a coin into the Trevi fountain in Rome, which is actually also where part of the Lizzie McGuire movie was filmed.” She advises anyone visiting should take the time to walk the streets of Rome and definitely visit Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Kahryn also mentioned how, although no Italians commented on her “accent,” people were able to recognize that she was from America immediately.

Senior Austin Norton had a similar experience while vacationing in Mexico. He explained, “A lot of the street vendors always called to us ‘Americans! Americans! I speak English come buy from me!’ and were taken by surprise, and fairly impressed, when I was able to speak some Spanish with them.” His favorite memory from the trip was getting to parasail with his brother, even earning the chance to see lightning far off in the distance while suspended in the wind. However, he also immensely praised the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, listing it as, undeniably, one thing he would recommend to any tourists in the area. When recalling visiting the ruins, Austin said “It was undoubtedly worth the long car ride. They accomplished an extraordinary feat in the construction of Chichen Itza.”

Off on another continent, junior Advait Reddy was touring France, visiting places like Paris, Monaco, and the French Riviera. While he was in Monaco, Advait had the opportunity to see famous tennis players Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic battle against each other in the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, his most memorable experience during the vacation. When asked whether anything comical happened while overseas, Advait responded, “The unregulated sale of merchandise on the streets of Paris is illegal, yet that doesn’t stop immigrants from selling goods all over the city. Whenever police drove by, they would all sprint away.” In addition, upon discovering the fact that he was American, a frequent question was “How’s Obama?”

Spring break offers an exciting opportunity to fortunate BC students who plan to travel abroad. For those who had a “staycation” in Brookfield, there’s always next year. Worst comes to worst, living vicariously through friends tweets and instagrams of the beautiful countries they visited is always an option.