Travelling abroad is a common dream that many individuals share, and some lucky people will find the chance to do so at a young age.

This past summer was filled with a lot of free time to let students take a load off and relax after nine months of schooling. To some, all of that free time is the perfect opportunity for some to travel overseas and experience different cultures, which is exactly what some Manhattan High School students did.

“I never thought I would get to do this kind of thing,” senior Alex Ring said. Ring had a chance to experience a trip to Europe, specifically to parts of Ireland, Scotland, and England. “[My sister and I] took a lot of time to save up the money to get the opportunity to go.”

While being able to travel is often planned for fun, others run into situations where travelling seems to work out best for recent events.

“My dad was teaching a class for his job in Italy, so we just went with him to make things easier,” senior Taryn Hohenbary said.

No matter what the reason may be though, this opportunity opens doors for individuals to sightsee, tour and learn about cultures other than their own. Culture clash is something these students experienced during this process.

“I thought we were going to crash into everyone every time we turned,” Ring said, describing the smaller roads in London. She also describes other differences such as the driving on the opposite side of the roads, smaller biking lanes, and even paying to use public bathrooms.

However, students found that the highlights of their trips heavily outweigh the culture clash and need for adjusting to a different lifestyle.

“My favorite park was probably walking around every day and exploring the cities, as well as experiencing the culture,” Ring said.

Of course, these experiences always lead to unique memories, and more often than not inspire travellers to return.

“We didn’t get to go to Venice, and I would have really like to have gone there,” Hohenbary said. “I would definitely go back.”