China Trip Postponed to 2025

On December 13, it was announced that the Spring 2024 China trip to Hefei, Jingdezhen, and Shanghai was postponed to Spring 2025 due to low enrollment. The trip was intended for 12-18 students, but only nine had applied and been accepted. Global Studies Coordinator Kyong Pak, in collaboration with the travel company Envoys allowed the accepted nine students to travel. However, more students soon responded that they were unable to participate, and the trip was postponed. Students who were previously accepted this year will be ensured a spot on next year’s trip. 

While there was considerable interest by many, some were deterred by the cost. Senior Sasha Lovell said, “It seemed like a good language learning experience that would also be fun and go to a country I’d never been to… But probably the biggest thing was, despite my interest, the high cost kept me away.” To address these concerns, Pak said that itineraries would be examined to find areas where costs could be lowered and to vet different travel companies and organizations. The trip’s location next year is still being decided between mainland China and Taiwan and its timing will also be considered to bring down the price. 

Additionally, some students were turned away by the cell phone policy which does not allow students to access their phones while abroad. After conversations with other independent schools and travel companies, Pak said that the School’s cellphone policy for global study trips is the norm, but she said that she is open to insight and feedback from schools, students, and travel companies. 

The China trip was the only program that had a language prerequisite of Chinese 3 or being a heritage speaker, which restricted the number of applicants. To possibly attract more applicants next year, Pak says, “We are in conversation [if the trip] should still be a language immersion trip, or should we make it more of like a cultural immersion?” 

To make other future trips more accessible, Pak has been thinking about incorporating domestic travel into these global study trips: “I want to look at more domestic trips and trips that are closer to home. There are a lot of great study travel programs we can do in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, where it’s a little bit cheaper and more affordable.”