BY REBECCA OLIVEIRA & NEDEN BERNADIN
Lots of commotion is going on at the Tornado Travelers club as they prepare for two huge trips, Puerto Rico in February and China in April. They’re still promoting next year’s trip for Hawaii in February, and Italy in the month of April. Shauna Campbell, who is going on the Puerto Rico trip, said that the Tornado Traveler’s club are currently, “planning fundraisers for all four of those trips that people can support themselves financially to prepare for those.” Their first fundraiser will be a car wash on October 1st. Then a scavenger hunt around the city during spirit week. There are also bake sales that are typically done at the MHS sporting events.
There are five main topics that each of the trips focus on within the country that they visit, such as language, ecology, food, culture, and history. Depending on where the students choose to travel, Campbell explains that, “Some places have a little bit more history to them because of monuments, ruins, museums…whereas other places have more vegetation and places to hike, and look for animals.” Both Mr. Marques and Ms. Chan are running the trip to China, which has a more historical and cultural itinerary than Puerto Rico, since it focuses more on nature and ecology.
The Puerto Rico trip will last a total of seven days consisting of fun activities such as snorkeling and taking salsa/cooking lessons. At the same time, the trip will be educational with visiting historical sites such as a sightseeing tour of old San Juan. Also, visiting El Yancé rainforest, which happens to be the ¨ only tropical rainforest in the American National Forest Sanction¨. The group will have their fair share of free time at the Luquillo and Fajardo Beach. Whereas, the China trip will last a little longer with 12 days consisted of a tour through Beijing and visiting temples. This trip will be more on the educational side than Puerto Rico. Tours includes the Forbidden City and visiting a traditional Chinese house and eating a meal with a family. The group will also take bike ride through Kowloon which is a city completely surrounded by walls and see the one of the ancient wonders of the world, The Great Wall of China.
With planning a huge trip, there are a lot of factors going into play on deciding which country the club wants to go each year. They look into student’s interest and making sure it’s an appropriate place to travel depending on the issues going on there. Looking into the media/press was also a huge factor in the decision-making process. The club has two mandatory meetings with the students learning about the language, food, and cultural differences of the country. Before departing, they must go over the packing lists, hotels, flight itineraries and check in with the student’s parents. On the 15th of October, there will be a meeting held to discuss the options for the 2019 trip. Ms.Campbell mentioned that there are “different teachers each time,” that advises the trip such as Ms. Marquez and Ms. D´Agostino going to Italy in 2018.
Correction: In a previous version of this article, Ms. D’Agostino was written as Mr. D’Agostino.
