Through planes and trains, Four Corners Upper School (FCUS) took over Europe. This past summer, students embarked on a 10-day long international field trip to live a true Euro summer.
“We went to Giant’s Causeway where they filmed the Game of Thrones. In Edinburg we saw a lot of murals and went to museums. London we were able to go to the Soho district, we also saw Wicked the musical in their (European) version of Broadway,” Assistant Principal Christopher Rushing said.
Even before arriving at their first destination, Ireland, these travelers had experienced some setbacks.
“On the way to Ireland we had to stop in D.C., and when we got there our flight got cancelled, so we had to find a hotel for that night and when we got ready to go the next day, that flight got cancelled too, so we rushed into another flight which was really crazy with this big group of people,” Rushing said.
For many this unexpected delay meant worried parents with no updates and a whole lot of calls home.
“My parents freaked out a bit. Mr. Winters was on the phone for a while talking to the people to see if we could get a hotel. Everyone called their parents, but we did not know much, so our parents were asking what was going on and we did not know what to tell them,” senior Max Zweibel said.
For others this sudden change of plans left them stranded without their bags and overwhelmed in a hotel room.
“Since we were supposed to be flying out that night, our checked bags were already loaded onto the airplane and weren’t going to be unloaded until they knew where we were going next. So, a lot of us, like me, were left without most of our luggage, which for me meant I also didn’t have any change of clothes. But, at 1 am, when we were exhausted, frustrated and had 10 other emotions, that felt like a later problem. So, we piled into Ubers and went to the hotel,” Social Studies teacher Steven Johnson said.
Despite having a big group of FCUS students on the trip, they did not meet the 25-student minimum for their own exclusive trip, so before arriving in Ireland, the group met other students from Virginia who would also join along.
“There were 20 students from Four Corners but when we got to D.C. we joined another group that had 4 students and some more chaperones. We called ourselves the magnificent 32, since we had 32 of us including our tour guide,” Rushing said.
The group was accompanied by tour guides the entire journey, which Johnson believes enhanced this experience since the guides were locals and some had experienced the place’s history first-hand.
“Growing up, we heard a bit about what went on in Ireland during something called ‘The Troubles’, which itself is a part of a larger story that goes back hundreds of years. I was very interested in hearing the first-hand accounts of our tour guides that had lived through ‘The Troubles’ and what their lives were like growing up,” Johnson said.
While exploring Dublin the students had the opportunity to try the European McDonalds, which has a different menu than the one here in the States.
“They had some weird french fries, they called them halloumi fries, it’s basically mozzarella sticks made of halloumi cheese which I had never heard of before,” Zweibel said.
During the trip the travelers got to taste foods from each of the countries they visited: Ireland, Scotland, England. After trying all these, senior Landyn Rayan had a verdict of what cuisine he believed to be best.
“The place with the best food in my opinion was Dublin, I had a chicken and potato bowl with creamy sauce which was amazing. The worst food I had there was London overall, however I’ve been there a few times, and I think they have amazing food it was just the places they ended up picking,” Rayan said.
For Rayan, this exposure to new different cultures was something he had been waiting for since he started high school. Due to a payment plan Rayan was able to budget and pay for the trip on his own.
“I paid for the trip myself; I paid $150ish every month since summer of freshman year which was about $4,500. During the trip however, my parents gave me spending money and I spent around $450 including things like extra tours, Wicked, and then the food they didn’t provide which are things like lunch and snacks,” Rayan said.
This was the first time FCUS explored international grounds, however; the school already has plans to continue with international field trips in 2027.
“In 2027 there is supposed to be another international field trip to Japan, the payment plan actually already started last year so students can pay a certain amount of money every two weeks now, so that by the time we go in 2027 they won’t have to pay thousands of dollars at once,” Rushing said.
