In the spring of 2021, the world language department had planned for the students to take trips around the world to further their learning and indulge them in their studied languages and the cultures associated with them. The Japanese students were headed to Tokyo and the Spanish and French students were going to be traveling to Paris and Madrid with the help of EFTours. This company allows students to travel the world at a reduced price and while traveling students learn about the cultures and how they operate in day to day life. However, due to COVID-19, the Cherry Creek School District and EFTours have decided to cancel the upcoming trip.

 It’s truly devastating because some students have waited all of high school to attend and have saved up in order to go on the trip, but now can no longer go. “I feel it’s unfair that this pandemic is happening,” stated junior Daniel Micklos. “I feel disappointed but there are good reasons for missing it.” This much is true, even though it may seem unfair that those who signed up, especially the seniors, the health of our students and teachers and the health of others is more important than traveling right now. 

The trips would have benefitted the students tremendously by allowing them to further their knowledge of different cultures and they would have seen many famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the catacombs of Paris, the Cathedrale Notre Dame, and the Louvre Museum. “We were also going to be interacting with the locals by playing traditional games and learning the Flamenco dance,” explained Lisa Farley, the trip coordinator. The trips were planned to last for a week and they were going to be traveling from Paris to Madrid where they were going to learn all about traditional European and Spanish cultures. 

“I think the trip would have been a great learning experience. For me, learning another language in a classroom is difficult, so it’s a shame I’m missing the trip and getting the real experience I need,” expressed Micklos. The trips would have allowed students to indulge in the culture, and students would have been able to see the world from a different perspective all while practicing their learned language. The students also would have traveled to famous landmarks and some less-well-known ones as well, and they would have tried new foods and learned new dances. The trip being canceled isn’t the end of the world since the trip takes place every two years; however, for the graduating class of 2021, they won’t be able to experience this great opportunity.

“Students who graduate prior to the rescheduled trip will not be allowed to attend,” Farley confirmed. But seniors shouldn’t bawl their eyes out yet, because they are still able to go on class trips in college through EFTours, and luckily they still had the option to get a refund from EFTours. There’s more good news: the classes following the class of 2021 still have a chance to go explore a new place! The Cherry Creek School District and EFTours are trying to get the trip pushed to the spring of 2022. 

“The hope is that more people are vaccinated and that France, America, and Spain will normalize their travel restrictions” disclosed Farley. So it looks like current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors can still have something amazing to look forward to in the upcoming years.

 Hopefully by this time next year, we are back to some sort of normalcy and the trip is able to happen. It has not been finalized and the language department, as well as the district, cannot make any promises at this time, but it is their hope is that they’ll be able to take their students on this amazing trip.