Not many trips have you hiking up volcanoes near rivers of magma, or traveling by boat from coast town to coast town across one of the world’s deepest lakes or drinking in bars where bottle service costs no more than a tank of gas. These are just a few of the things that UC Irvine’s Hillel’s Alternative Spring Break to Guatemala had to offer students this year. The trip allowed students to explore the lifestyle and culture of Guatemala, while also spending time helping and playing with the children of Los Patojos. Los Patojos is a young organization that provides a place for disadvantaged Guatemalan children to eat, play and have fun. It’s a place for the children to escape the problems of Guatemala and, sometimes, the violence in their own households. In an impoverished society where it’s usually difficult for children who don’t come from wealthy families to make something of themselves, Los Patojos offers them a much-needed setting to develop direction in life.
If I’m no longer a student, does the label “starving college student” no longer apply?
Okay, “starving” is an exaggeration. I still have some ice cream in my freezer.
For many college students, top spring break destinations include Cancun, Miami Beach, Las Vegas – essentially cities where sun is abundant, the beach is prime and bathing suits are the appropriate dress code. Traveling to Fairbanks, Alaska might round out the bottom of this list where temperatures can fluctuate between 30 degrees during the day to below zero at night, beaches are covered in ice and showing some skin would not be the best idea. However, on the morning of March 19, I hopped on a plane headed to Fairbanks, Alaska for my spring break.
