This past summer, 17 Yutan students and 4 teachers experienced an international trip to Greece and Italy in Europe. But for two of the teachers, their adventure didn’t just end there.
Math teacher Joel Carrillo stayed an extra 12 days by himself, visiting Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
“In the grand scheme of things, all of these countries fit inside of Texas. It was interesting to see how different each country appeared architecturally as well as culturally,” Carrillo said.
Social studies teacher Elliot Ruleaux also stayed an extra 12 days with his wife, visiting Rome, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium and France.
“So I went up in the mountains in Switzerland and then got to do some geeky history stuff,” Ruleaux said. “I got to check out World War Two stuff in Belgium. That was really cool.”
Staying in Europe longer was an easy decision for both Carrillo and Ruleaux. For Carrillo, it was one of his life-long goals to backpack across Europe.
“And so I knew this was one of the few opportunities I’ll get to go to Europe. So I wanted to just do that,” Carrillo said. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos, and I see people hitchhike or hop on trains and that kind of thing.”
Ruleaux stayed behind to do more traveling around Europe with his wife.
“I’m already there, so why not stay longer and get to see more things? And so I talked with my wife and was like, ‘Why don’t you just meet me over there and we’ll go see more stuff since I’m already over there?’” Ruleaux said.
But being a continent away from home can be challenging. Both Carrillo and Ruleaux faced the obstacle of figuring their way around. Carrillo approached this obstacle by learning new languages.
“So I would ask people if they spoke English and they helped me out. I learned enough Greek and Italian to ask questions and get by,” Carrillo said. “I learned enough German just to say hello, thank you, how are you, and respond, so it helps, like people think you’re much nicer and are nicer to you if you try and learn their language.”
Meanwhile, Ruleaux relied on his phone to face the obstacle of finding his way.
“Technology is awesome….when you’re on your own, there’s a lot of reliance on technology. Google is a lifesaver. I know my wife was in Europe before, while we were in college, and did not have that technology,” Ruleaux said. “I don’t know if I would have survived at that point in time without using Google.”
By overcoming this challenge of navigating around Europe, one of the highlights of Carrillo’s trip was the sports culture in Switzerland.
“I went to Olympia and saw the official Olympic Museum in Switzerland and looked at all the trinkets and all the sports stuff and the world records that they have there, which was pretty cool,” Carrillo said.
Along with going to a sports museum, Carrillo was able to train in his sport in a different environment.
“I picked a mountain with a trail that was less traveled. There was a lot of brush and I really had to survey the area as I went through it so I didn’t lose the path. I began running up through streams, over fallen trees, down ravines, and up cliffs,” Carrillo said. “By the time I got to my final destination, I spotted a road and even a train that would take you to that very cafe.”
Meanwhile one of the highlights of Ruleaux’s trip was being able to expand his knowledge of historic sites that he has taught in the classroom before.
“Going to see places that I teach about, like Napoleon and Louis the 16th, just getting to see where they lived is pretty cool,” Ruleaux said.
Overall, these international adventures for both Carrillo and Ruleaux were worth it, and they wouldn’t mind visiting some of these countries again in the near future.
“I would go back because there’s a lot of places I didn’t get to go that I’d like to see,” Ruleaux said. “There are places I would like to return to just to have more time to experience things, including different locations, cultures, foods and geography.
