by Jamie Soukup
STAFF WRITER

Aubrey Gallegos: Botswana
Probably one of the coolest places I visited in Botswana was Chobe National Park, where we literally camped among the animals. At night none of us were allowed to leave our tents without yelling for a guide because, as our guides told us, we could be eaten or trampled by the animals. We couldn’t even go to the bathroom without having a guide escort us.

After our first night in the camp we realized why the guides were so serious about the rule; at night we could hear lions roaring as we fell asleep, and in the morning would find elephant tracks just a few feet from our tents. One evening, as we were all eating dinner outside, we heard a noise and looked up to find an elephant meandering through our campsite, no more than 20 feet from where we were eating. If there’s one thing I miss about Botswana, it’s being able to look up and say, “Oh, man, not another elephant!”

Barbara Simeles: Taiwan
In Taiwan, there weren’t any real toilets: there were holes in the ground. I was expecting that, but I wasn’t expecting the beds! The people there typically don’t sleep on mattresses: they just have little metal bed frames. Also, there are no trash cans anywhere: it’s hard to throw things away in public.

But the people there were so friendly. The very first thing that happened to me in Taiwan was on the airplane. I was arriving a day early, so I didn’t know where I was going to stay or what I was going to do when I got there. When the man I sat next to on the plane found out, he gave me money, told me to call a friend, and stayed with me until I worked out my plan! He was so nice.

Alyssa King: New Zealand
After I was done with the main program at the University of Otago, I did this program called WWOOF: Willing Workers On Organic Farms. People all over the world take part in this: it’s a home-stay with a Kiwi family. You work for food and accommodations. For a month I traveled on my own. I got to live with a family, work on a farm, and do whatever was in the area. They told me where I could go sea kayaking or took me four wheeling. I stayed with a total of four families: they were all very different. One was just a single mom, and one was a huge extended family.

I did everything from weeding, to feeding pigs, to herding cattle, to chasing sheep, to picking fruit! On rainy days, my families usually had me do housecleaning or taught me weaving. In one place, I stayed in a tent in the backyard, and in another, I stayed in a loft in a barn. I really became part of the family each time, and there were always tears when we said goodbye before I got on my bus.

Deanna Lucini: Greece
It was really cool being in Athens because it’s a capital, so there were a lot of people from all over the world there. But it’s also a really expensive city! So a bunch of [my friends] signed up for a cooking class for fun, and it was a pretty cheap way to have a good time.

Even though it was a big city, the people there were so friendly…. Everybody wanted to help me when I was lost. One lady even pushed me on a bus in the right direction when I didn’t know where I was going!

But it could also be really crazy. One time, this loud, old grandmother pushed past me and stole a taxi. Her grandchildren were so embarrassed, and kept trying to pull her out of the taxi!