Oregon

On the second day in the Wallowa Mountains, they ran into some park rangers at a lake that was about a quarter of a mile from where they set up camp.  Unfortunately, the state law in Oregon is that people cannot hike and camp in a group of more than 12 campers, but the Westminster campsite had 17 people there.  “We weren’t aware of the law and knew that we were in trouble immediately after the rangers asked us if we were all together,” said Jordan Hartmann, senior.  To avoid any trouble with the law, they sprinted back to the campsite and quickly picked up their tents to separate into smaller groups.  However, the boys’ new campsite was so far away that they awakened in the middle of the night to bobcats scratching their tents.

South Dakota

Seventeen seniors travelled north to the beautiful state of South Dakota to hike the Badlands and visit Mount Rushmore with their classmates.  Of course, with all the time in the wilderness craziness was bound to ensue.  On the first night in the Badlands, they pitched their tents on a giant plateau and their guides were staying on a hill nearby.  The sky was very clear and did not show any sign of the possibility of a single raindrop.  However, Lauren Stoner, senior, suggested that they should put rain covers on their tents to be safe, but no one humored her advice. Around 1:00 a.m. a terrible storm hit the camp site.  “It was the worst storm any of us had ever seen with 70 mile per hour winds and hail,” said Jack Andrews, senior.  In the madness of the storm, people’s tents got blown over and everyone was scrambling to keep their tents and things from getting blown away in the downpour.  The  morning after the watery madness, the guide, clueless with a complete night of sleep, asked how they slept.

New York

Students spent five days exploring the “Big Apple.”  One night they went to see the play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” At the end of the show, Mr. Schwamb stood up to applaud and he ripped his pants. So Mr. Schwamb had to take off his button shirt and tie it around his pants to cover the rip. All he had underneath was a white wife-beater. There were a lot of turned heads as he walked up and down the streets of New York in a wife-beater.  Walking around the streets of the big city surrounded by high schoolers did not make the situation any less embarrassing, but it is fun for the group to look back and laugh about.

Spain

A group of sophomores, juniors, and seniors travelled to the historically rich country of Spain.  They spent a week in the Mediterranean city of Dénia at Alfa y Omega Colegio to teach and learn from students of all ages.  Following the week of classes, they toured Madrid for the weekend.  Throughout the trip, junior, Tom Southwell tried to do parkour which was a humorous aspect of the trip.  On the very last night as everyone was walking back to the hotel, Southwell decided to end his Spanish parkour with a bang.  He ran to a concrete barrier in the middle of the street and jumped off of it to show off his moves.  However once he reached the top of it, the heavy barrier tipped over and fell.  A loud bang roared through the streets causing everyone’s head to turn.  The hundreds of onlookers gave Southwell a standing ovation for his accomplishment.

France

A group of 16 Westminster students and faculty members travelled to France to attend a school and tour Paris.  During their time in Paris, the group walked down to the Paris Metro to travel to their next destination. They had taken a trip on the Metro before, so it shouldn’t have been a big deal, but that day it was. As the train pulled up to the platform, the students noticed that it was much more crowded than usual. Unfazed, the group patiently waited for the doors to slide open. Unfortunately, the Paris Metro is notoriously fast moving. As a few students eventually made their way in, the doors began sliding shut. The students already in the train began frantically pulling more people on, but it wasn’t enough. When the doors finally did close, juniors Chelsea Caplinger, Taylor French, and Sydney Bowden were left stranded on the platform.

South Korea

A group of seniors were able to experience a once in a lifetime trip in the beautiful city of Seoul, South Korea.  They taught students English at WCA’s partner, Saemmul School, stayed with host families, and toured the unique city.  Korean food is unlike anything most Americans have ever tried, and unfortunately, Westminster students experienced Korean food like no one has ever experienced before.  While Tommy Regan and Ben Isaacs, seniors, were at lunch, a group of boys brought some food for them to try.  It was a plastic bowl with dark, red noodles.  Of course, they were happy to accept the gift, but were warned that they need to be careful because the dish was very spicy.  Quickly, a large group of kids crowded around the table to watch the Americans eat this “secret” food.  With two big bites of the mystery dish, their mouths were on fire.  “It was the spiciest thing, I’ve ever eaten, but we won the respect of the kids at school,” said Regan.