Adventure Tourism Booms: SKHS Students Travel to South America And Africa

   Planning for summer: for most people this is a vital part of the final three months of school. Many students sit daydreaming of the two months ahead, planning every beach day and cent they’ll spend. But for two SKHS girls, this summer will not be filled with beach days and summer work.

  While others hit the sand and surf, Juniors Sarah George and Caroline Kelly plan on spending their summers doing daily community service in Africa and South America.

  The two students are taking part in a new type of travel called Adventure-Service tourism. This new tourism style allows teens and adults to travel to another country to perform several days of community service coupled with the immersion into local culture.

  George plans to spend five weeks in Ghana, a country in eastern Africa along the Ivory Coast.

  “I will be doing some kind of community service project in a small village,” said George, “The rest of the time I’ll be doing a home stay in one of the big cities like Accra.”

   George’s trip is facilitated by a foundation called The Experiment in International Living. The group runs summer programs for teens in 27 countries around the world.

   The fees for trips like these, however, soar to the thousands. George’s trip will cost her nearly $7,000. Kelly’s trip, to the mountains of Peru, will cost her close to $5,000.

    “I am going to Peru for three and a half weeks with this group called Broad Reach,” explained Kelly.

  Broad Reach, a company that strives to help teens explore different parts of the world, will be coordinating Kelly’s trip. Broad Reach was founded in 1993 to create summer programs to educate teens.

  Kelly, along with thirteen other teens from around the United States, will be spending several days hiking the Inca Trail and then traveling to the village of Cuzco to stay with the community.

“I’m going to be working with the kids there and teaching them about health and also helping them with their English,” said the SKHS junior

  In recent years, companies like The Experiment in International Living and Broad Reach have boomed. The new world of travel has opened up opportunities for Adventure Tourism and changed the face of vacationing in general.

  “Several years ago there was an increased demand of people telling us that they really wanted to do some community service programs,” said the Marketing Director of Broad Reach, Missy Cook.

  Kelly, for example, will spend several days in a town experiencing the local culture and then set off on a hike through the Inca Trail. The group will hike up to the ruins of Manchu Picchu and then spend the final two weeks working with people in a village.

   The mix of cultural experience and community service has taken the vacation world by storm.

  Though George does not yet know what service she will be performing, she is scheduled to find out prior to her trip.

“In the past they’ve done stuff like building a school or painting or teaching kids stuff,” said George.

  More and more teens and adults have been traveling to other countries, not just for a vacation but for a life experience and companies like these offer these experiences.

 “I think [this trip] will make me more aware of differences in people around the world and more of an out going person,” said George.

   George and Kelly both feel that this is an experience that will change their outlook on the world.

   “[My Parents are]a bit nervous about me going to a country far away,” said Kelly, “but their also excited that I’m going to be learning so much this summer.”

   Both Kelly and George have traveled to other countries in the past, but neither has stayed for an extended length of time.

   “I got my packing list the other day,” said George, “I’m not allowed to wear any shorts that are above my knees and [I have to wear] one piece bathing suits.”

   George feels that the cultural expectations may be strict but understands the necessity of abiding by them.

  “I want to probably major in international development and work with this kind of stuff,” said George.

   George, who plans on going on trips like this throughout her life, recently went to Honduras with her mother over February vacation. She and her mother went with an organization called Sustainable Harvest and completed daily tasks of helping the villagers farm and also lived with a local family.

  Kelly has never done this kind of international service work and feels that her upcoming experience will help her become more educated on the needs of others around the world.

   “I [think I] will learn more about the world and cultural differences from here in Rhode Island and other parts of the world,” said Kelly.

   Though Kelly plans on pursuing a career in chemistry, she believes her interactions with the people of Peru will positively affect other aspects of her life.

  “There has been a real expansion in more meaningful adventure service,” said Cook, “and an explosion of these courses when it’s more than just fun.”