Getting the opportunity to travel internationally is not something that many receive, especially at a young age. For 17 students and 4 teachers at Yutan High School, this chance is now less than three months away.

At the end of May, they will be traveling to Greece and Italy as part of the first-ever Yutan international trip.

“Having the chance to travel out of the country and see so many sights with my classmates is just an experience I know I’ll enjoy,” senior Cooper Leather said.

For some, this trip will be the first time they have ever traveled out of the country or even flown on a plane, which can be a source of nerves.

“I’ve never traveled outside of the United States at all, so I thought it would be cool to go elsewhere and see what it is like,” senior Bryce Kolc said. “But the only thing I’m nervous about is flying because I’ve never flown on a plane before.”

Other students have experience under their belts from past trips.

“I went to the Dominican Republic last summer, so it was helpful to get a feel for the whole experience of traveling out of the country,” senior Bella Tederman said.

During the 10-day trip, the students will have the opportunity to tour Athens, the Meteora region and Delphi, take an overnight ferry from Greece to Italy, and finally end the trip with visits to Florence and Rome. 

“We’ll get to see so many famous sights like the Colosseum, the Parthenon and the Vatican,” English teacher and trip organizer Ginger Eikmeier said. “I mean, we’ll actually get to experience in person so many amazing sights that we’ve seen in movies and history classes.”

“I’m really excited to see all the ancient architecture because it just seems really cool to me,” senior Jack Edwards said. “I think it’ll be really pretty.”

Despite the cost, signing up for the trip was a no-brainer for Edwards because there are so many unique experiences that the students will have.

“I thought that it’s an experience that everyone should have just to know other cultures besides the one that you know and just see how other people live,” Edwards said.

With all of the exciting experiences that come with traveling internationally, Eikmeier is looking forward to seeing the reactions from the students as they visit the various sites.

“I think we’re going to be seeing so many amazing things that not only experiencing it myself but then getting to see other people kind of light up with that joy of travel is going to be really awesome,” Eikmeier said.

Overall, the students continue to prepare for the travel ahead of them.

“We have some really fun people going, and I think it’ll be just an overall good life experience,” Tederman said.