Around the World for 10 Days

It was around August when seniors Mackenzie Hanna, Sydney Bahr and Jordan Kiehl started planning their spring break. They decided that going to Mexico would be too expensive, and that they didn’t want to go to Seagrove because it was too predictable. The three seniors talked with their parents and they had soon decided to go on a cruise. This spring break, Hanna, Bahr and  Kiehl will be going to Belize, Honduras and Mexico with their moms for a week.

The cruise ship leaves from New Orleans, so they are all driving down in one car a day early to explore the city.  The seven-day trip allows them only about a day in each of their destinations. However the girls aren’t going to let the short amount of time get in the way. They are already planning on going zip lining and snorkeling. They have also booked a private tour guide to show them around the island of Roatan, which is just off the coast of Honduras. Roatan is home to the Carambola Botanical gardens where Hanna, Bahr and Kiehl have the opportunity to take a hike up a small mountain for a view of the whole Island.

For a mission trip with her church, sophomore Ellie Mitchell is going to La Romana in the Dominican Republic over spring break. There, she and her group of 18 other high school students will teach English to six through seven-year-olds. When she is not teaching she will be building a second level to the school so the town can allow full-day education for the children, instead of their current standing half-day system.

She will be working hard from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, but they do get the afternoons off. In that free time they will explore the 15th century inspired town of La Romana. There, they will have the opportunity to visit the church, amphitheatre and chocolate museum. They will also get a sense for the local food and culture.

“We get to go to a cool restaurant where we get to do their traditional dance so that will be fun” Mitchell said.

South Africa lies 8,800 miles and a 22 hour plane ride from Kansas City; this is where junior Elisabeth Shook is going with her aunt. Shook and her aunt will spend spring break in  Johannesburg and Cape Town.  Shook’s aunt loves to travel and decided to go to South Africa with her niece for vacation.

During their nine-day vacation, they will go on a three-day safari in Cape Town, visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and go to the famous Victoria Falls that spread over a mile wide on the border of Zimbabwe. South Africa is known for it’s beaches, mountains and vast, open safaris but also has political history and culture. Located in downtown Johannesburg is the Apartheid Museum, one of the most prestigious museums in South Africa for its focus on South Africa’s former oppressive segregation system.