After a cold, long winter, most of us dream of getting away and really taking a break during Spring Break. While some of us are stuck home, hanging out with little to do, others take off and see the world. If you were one of those couch surfing the daytime soaps instead of body surfing the waves in a tropical resort, maybe you can gain a little inspiration from these adventurers:

Making Music in the Magic Kingdom

“We went to Disney World as a big orchestra group for our orchestra clinic. It was really cool because we got to play a lot of Disney music and even recorded a video of us doing Beauty and the Beast.  First we went to Disney World, then the Kennedy Space Center, and then we went on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was very eventful.  We performed on the cruise ship for everyone. We got a really big crowd, which I was happy about, with only an hour of practice before, and we did really well. I was really proud of everyone.  My top three favorite parts were the rides at Disney. We got fast passes to them because our tour guide was the bomb – everyone went to Splash Mountain like three times.  My second favorite part would be the ocean. It was so beautiful at all times, and the weather was perfect. I definitely don’t miss the weather up here even though the humidity in Florida is awful.  Then the third favorite part is the food. We ate so much food. It was really bad how much we ate.  We went with our clinic instructor who is famous with soundtracks and bands.  He taught us all about how it is in the real world when it comes to being a musician, getting in there, what it takes, and how you can excel in that.  We also went to the straw market in the Bahamas, where everyone learned how to bargain, which was an experience in itself. We got dresses, jewelry, fans, and wooden carved fishes.  By the end of the trip, everybody knew each other really well. We had all these awful inside jokes and puns.  I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.” ~Elsha Seiloff, 9

Island Hopping for a Few Days

“We went to a couple different islands. We went to Jamaica, Cozumel, and the Cayman Islands. We went on a cruise that ported in those three places. I went with Ben Wisdorf, Bobbo Brown, Nate Montgomery, Hunter Marshall, Hunter Jurenka, Taylor Oates, and their families. My favorite part is probably porting in Cozumel. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about different cultures.  In Jamaica we went waterfall climbing and bobsledding. In the Cayman Islands we went to this beach called Seven Mile Beach. It was a really cool beach, and there were a lot of people there.” ~Chandler Haukap, 12

A Friendly French Family Welcome

“We stayed about forty miles outside of Paris, and we each had our own host families, which was interesting because you got to see this different part of the culture that you don’t get to see by just staying at a hotel. You see what dance classes they go to or horse riding classes, what they do inside the actual French culture.  Our first day there, we walked to the Arc de Triomphe, pass the Tuilere Gardens, so we saw all of the Champs-Elysees. We also went to Notre Dame, Musse d’Orsay, and the Louvre. We saw everything.  I’m a really big art fan, so I really loved the Louvre and really, really loved Musse d’Orsay.  I brought back a lot of stuff for my friends and a lot of clothes. We also had a lot of kids get their hair done there.  I learned a lot of French. Every night I’d go home and come up with words that I didn’t know so that I could talk to my family and ask them how to say something, and you learn so much by just hearing people talk.  The first couple days was a little bumpy because you’re thrown into a family that isn’t used to having another person there, and how they’d get them home and dealing with this extracurricular activity they’re doing.  They’re really welcoming. It’s nice and interesting how they’d open their arms and let someone jump into their lives for a short amount of time. I’d definitely stay with a host family again.” ~Alexandria Rinne, 9