Caroline Zuffante is a senior at Winthrop High School in Winthrop, Massachusetts. She traveled to England, Ireland, and Scotland in April of 2018. Here is how her trip to the UK introduced her to a whole new world.
When I thought of “traveling” a year ago, I thought about taking a quick two-hour plane ride to Florida or a three-hour car ride to Maine. If you were to tell me that I would be traveling seven hours overseas to the United Kingdom, I would’ve laughed right there on the spot. Sure, different parts of the world have always interested me, but I’d never really thought about actually visiting them. The idea of traveling to a different continent seemed foreign to me. I grew up in a small two-mile radius town my entire life, so it was difficult to think about the rest of the world outside of our country. So, when I decided to join my school trip to England, Ireland, and Scotland, I didn’t know what to expect.
Flash forward to the trip: I can remember the wheels of the plane first touching the runway pavement in Ireland. I looked over to my friends and we all smiled at each other, eager to get off and breathe in the Irish air. We were filled to the brim with excitement and I could not wait to begin our journey. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a whole new part of my life; a whole new perspective of the world.
The entire trip was the best experience I could have hoped for. Every day introduced something new for us to do, whether it was touring the streets of Ireland, visiting a castle in Scotland, or witnessing British guards march across Buckingham Palace in London. Getting to experience the different cultures and ways of living life was surreal; my hometown was beginning to seem even smaller than before.
Every night we got a taste of the cuisine and the traditional foods served in the United Kingdom. At one of our first dinners in Ireland, the waiter brought out a brown beef stew and gave each of us a bowl. Some of us looked at it warily, wondering what it was and how it would taste. Our tour guide was quick to realize how hesitant some of us were, so he reassured us that trying new things is one of the greatest pleasures in life. He told us to open our minds and take advantage of where we were. I dug my spoon into my bowl and tasted the stew — it was delicious. I now realize that our tour guide couldn’t have been more right. The rest of the trip was full of memorable experiences.
Before I traveled to the U.K., I never really thought about exploring different parts of the world. Now that I have gone on the trip, my perspective has flipped. I fell in love with the culture and aspects of each country that made them different than the United States. For example, In Edinburgh, Scotland (probably my favorite destination of the trip), we were weaving through the streets and looking at all the little shops when we came across someone playing the bagpipes. People gathered around and danced along to the music. The energy in the air was incredible. At night, our teacher Mr. Nickerson let us stay out and take in the lights of the city. Edinburgh Castle was lit up and looking down on us; the perfect setting that could appear on a postcard. That day was one to remember.
Coming home from the trip was upsetting. It was hard to believe we were no longer in a different country. No one wanted the experience to come to an end. With college coming up right around the corner, I am now highly considering taking part in a studying abroad program. If I have a chance to travel again, I am going to take it. Before the trip, I probably wouldn’t have thought about studying abroad. I was okay with staying where I was and making do with what I had. However, studying abroad sounds like music to my ears now. It would be a great opportunity to discover more cultures and take in what the rest of the world has to offer.
Not only did my perspective of the world change, but I made my best friends on the trip. Spending all those days with each other and enjoying the same things together while becoming more independent brought me and my peers closer together. Whether we were touring the cities or sitting with each other in our hotel rooms at night, the amount of fun and laughs we had was endless. When I came home, I wasn’t coming home with the same group of people I left with. They were now my friends that I wouldn’t trade for anything. To this day, we reminisce about the trip and look back at how great of a time we had.
All in all, attending this trip was the best decision I ever made. It made me more independent as a person and broadened my mind when taking the rest of the world into consideration. Different cultures and life now intrigue me, and I would love to discover more. Don’t get me wrong, my little hometown is great, but there is so much more out there that is worth exploring.
