At 4 p.m. this Thursday, I will be on an airplane headed east, not south.
While many of you will be chasing the worm, embarrassing your family on soft-core porn and dodging hangovers and STDs down in Mexico or the Bahamas, a small group of friends and I will be taking a European vacation...most likely in the spirit of National Lampoon's.
Spring Break 2004 will be my second time touring Europe, and I cannot wait to take a break from school, my daily routine and this continent-if only for a week. But for me, this trip will sharply contrast with my previous European visit.
The theme of this spring break trip won't be \Peter N. Long invades Europe,"" but rather, ""Europe invades Peter N. Long."" The proverbial cowboy hat, Hawaiian shirt and fat-wallet-exploding-with-dollar-bills ensemble will not be the attire of choice this time around-I hope to experience Europe as a traveler, not as a tourist. It will be a trip to enjoy and remember.
The major difference between my initial visit to Europe and this spring break is organization-during the Appleton Public High School combined band and orchestra tour of Austria and Italy, I would guesstimate that we, as high school juniors and seniors, were allowed a total of about one hour of free time during the entire trip. Admittedly that may be a bit of a stretch, but the tandem of organization and structure was certainly the name of the game.
Virtually everywhere we went, a teacher, or chaperone or tour guide was no more than 10 steps away, making sure we were safe, sound and out of the reach of prostitutes and other sources of ""real European culture."" Every minute of every day during the trip was scheduled and planned out, and the dreaded ""School Rules Still Apply"" warning hung over us like an angry storm cloud. We had a blast to be sure, but heaven help those of us who wore skimpy and/or revealing clothing or went to the bathroom without a pass.
The best part about our impending trip to Europe is that this time, ""College Rules Still Apply,"" which basically means there are no rules, there exists little if any organization and if we wear skimpy and/or revealing clothing, we better be prepared for the consequences. The only structure we're forced to adhere to is getting off the plane on Friday morning and getting back before classes resume on March 22-something I find incredibly liberating.
My tour of Europe as a high school student was one of the most exciting, educational and memorable times of my life. However, I, along with my wind- and stringed-instrument compatriots, made the fatal error most Americans make on their first visit abroad-I left everything at home except for myself.
Being an older, wiser individual, I view my upcoming trip to Europe as an invaluable opportunity to detach from the rigors of living in a society dominated by rsums and GPAs, and enjoy being a twenty-something in a society with markedly different values and an entirely unique world view.
Enjoy your spring break and remember-if I happen to not make it back, blame terrorists and/or rock 'n' roll, and know that I love college, life, Van Halen and you.
