In just two more days, the luckiest of us will be taking a week long break from arctic tundra that is Big Rapids.
If you aren’t going anywhere for spring break, live vicariously through these students who are.
International communications and media junior Janelle Flemming is an exchange student from the Netherlands, but was born and raised in Aruba, an island in the Caribbean.
Needless to say, she’s been struggling with this particularly awful winter and is excited to escape to Panama City Beach.
“I’m excited to party for a week and just feel warm again and feel like I’m at home,” Flemming said.
Flemming explained how this spring break is a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for her because they don’t have spring break at her home university. Their school year is divided into four blocks followed by a week off after each one.
“It’s not like here where everyone goes to Cancun or Panama City Beach,” said Flemming. “So this is a nice opportunity. I’m hoping to meet new people and lay on the beaches. That’s what I really want.”
Criminal justice senior Jacob Cote is a Michigan native, so he’s used to the cold, but that doesn’t make him any less ready for the sunny 80 degree weather he’ll experience on his eastern Caribbean cruise.
“It’s not as bad as last year, but I can’t wait to get out of here,” Cote said.
To the envy of many of us, Cote will be relaxing on the beaches of San Juan, Antigua, Nassau, and St. Thomas during the stops of his eight-day cruise.
“It’s going to be pretty fun, I’m excited,” said Cote. “You get to see a bunch of different places at once as opposed to being stuck in the same resort.”
If partying on the beach isn’t your cup of tea, live through this couple who’s going to be exploring Los Angeles for the next week.
A celebrity home tour, Hollywood sign, Walk of Fame, paddle boarding on the Pacific, Venice Beach, and the Santa Monica Pier are some of the sights and activities plastics engineering sophomore Andrew Klarecki and pre-pharm junior Logan Bixman are eager to experience.
“Last time I was at Venice Beach, I saw a small, black man wearing a three-piece green suit sitting in an automatic wheel chair with a boom box in his lap,” Klarecki said. “He was blasting ghetto rap and just doing zig-zags and donuts everywhere. There’s always just something interesting around every corner.”
Ferris students may get accustomed to the sheltered life in Big Rapids, which is why Bixman is mostly excited to just see how different of a culture LA has in store.
“I’ve heard from so many people that as soon as you’re out there you don’t want to leave,” Bixman said. “Just the craziest things that are so normal out there are so foreign to me.”
Bixman will be taking back a better souvenir than a tourist magnet from this adventure—she’s getting inked up for the first time while she’s in LA.
“I’m getting a lotus flower where I broke my back because it stands for overcoming challenges,” said Bixman. “On my foot, I’m going to get mountains for like moving mountains. I guess it’s a little bit more of a meaningful trip for me.”