High school plans China trip

Sacred Heart High School is planning its most ambitious international trip ever in 2013.

Over Easter break next spring, 38 students and six chaperones will spend ten days touring China, focusing on the areas surrounding Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai.

In past years, the school has organized trips to France, Italy, Germany, and other parts of Europe. This time, planners wanted to present students with something even further outside their usual experiences.

"For one, we wanted to experience a different culture, as opposed to some of the European cultures that we've been touring through in the past," says tour coordinator Perry Enns. "And China is a relatively new country to travel in, so we thought that was a good opportunity-not a whole lot of people have traveled out there."

In China, students will visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Beijing Zoo. They will see the famous Terracotta Army, walk on the Great Wall, and ride a bamboo raft down the Li River.

A Chinese group leader will travel with the students for the entire ten days, which is planned through EF Educational Tours.

All 38 available seats on the tour were filled shortly after an informational meeting at the school in December. Applying students had to submit an essay explaining their interest in the tour.

"In the past, we haven't had this many kids apply right off the bat, so this was our first real competition to get in," says Enns.

Fundraising initiatives for the trip will begin soon. The portion of expenses paid for this way will depend on the amount each individual student chooses to participate. In past years, some students have fundraised the entire cost of their trip.

Students are already getting excited about the opportunity, says Enns.

"They're really looking forward to the different culture, the language, meeting all the different people they'll get to meet, as well as all the exciting food choices they're going to have to try."