Spring break trips offer exotic getaways

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Emma Epstein Assistant Life Editor

To most, Spring Break conjures up images of drunken debauchery, golden tans, and the beach. College kids would rather do anything but work over the break, right? Wrong. A group of Vassar students spent this vacation participating in school programs. While the allure of the MTV Beach House may work for some, Spring Break does not necessarily mean no school, and school during Spring Break does not necessarily mean no fun or excitement.

36 members of the Vassar Women’s Choir became Turkish TV stars during their concert tour of the country March 11 to March 19. In addition to participating in two other performances throughout the nation, choir members took advantage of sightseeing opportunities.

The Jewish Studies, Asian Studies, and International Studies programs sponsored academic trips over the break. Fifteen students and two professors traveled to Prague, Berlin, and Budapest to trace Jewish history. Thirty-seven students and seven professors examined China’s place in the world through first-hand observation. Thirty-six students and three professors explored the diverse facets of Moroccan culture.

All three trips were preceded by courses that incorporated elements such as lectures, films or readings to teach students about the country they would visit. The Women’s Choir had been preparing their repertoire for such a concert tour all year.

Often it was the aspects of the trip that differed from expectations which made the strongest impression.

Arielle Guterman ’09 said that her favorite part of the China trip was climbing Yellow Mountain.

“Right now, you think of [China] as being so industrial and polluted, but it was so peaceful,” said Guterman.

Students attending the Morocco trip also described a similarly profound experience when they rode camels into the Sahara Desert, spent the night in Berber tents, and watched the sun rise.

Besides their four performances, other highlights of the choir trip included exploring Turkish nightlife, shopping for silk scarves at a bazaar in Burka, and plentiful Turkish coffee.

Aliya Hussain ’06 said she and her friends became shwarma connoisseurs over the course of the Morocco trip, asking concierges in every city where to find the best of this spiced meat sandwich and then rating their favorites.

Kathryn McKinney ’07 especially enjoyed seing the opera Giovanni in Berlin and the view from the Charles Bridge in Prague.

Students also remarked that they enjoyed bonding with each other and faculty members in an informal way.

“I came in there thinking, ‘they are professors, I have to act properly, but by the end, you’re on a first name basis, joking along with them,” said Guterman of the China trip.

For students on all four trips, the break away from Vassar provided an eye-opening experience. “You just look around and think, Who knew there was a place like this,’” Hussain said.

“I was blown away,” Women’s Choir member Nitara Dandapani ’08 added.