On June 18th, thirty-two students and five faculty members from the Friends Select Upper School embarked on a summer trip to Italy to explore Italian culture and history.
Throughout their week, students had the opportunity to explore Rome, Pompeii, Capri, and Naples. They saw famous landmarks such as the Vatican, the Basilica, the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, and more. They experienced a whole new culture and the students had their very own pizza-making class in Naples. “Learning about the different architecture, foods, and history was my favorite part of the trip,” Jackson Young ‘27 said.
In Italy, students immersed themselves in Italian culture while learning and growing together as a group. “The teachers were supportive and everybody did a great job of making each other feel comfortable and we all traveled as a unit,” Paloma Herrera ‘25 said.
A standout highlight for many students was exploring the island of Capri. On June 23rd, students took a ferry to Capri and took a boat tour along with sightseeing. Even though some students suffered from seasickness, the consensus was that Capri was one of the highlights of the trip. “My favorite place was Capri, we got to swim in the ocean and the water was so warm and blue! it was so gorgeous and cute there,” Zoe Siegel ‘24 said.
Paloma added, “Capri had the most beautiful and authentic stores that could not be experienced anywhere else.”
The group was led by EF Educational Tours, an organization whose mission is to “provide immersive, life-changing education to students.” However, the FSS group shared mixed opinions about their experience with this company. One student’s perspective was positive: “I enjoyed the activities EF planned and the tour guides with us as they led us through the sites and gave us interesting facts that I didn’t know before.” Winnie Meyers ‘26 said.
However, Paloma noted “Although EF was passionate about teaching culture, the food options were very limited and 4/6 nights were hotel dinners and I wish I could have experienced more authentic Italian cuisine,” Paloma said.
In addition to Paloma’s experience, Zoe added, “I would never take a trip with EF Tours again personally, our hotels were very much out of reach from everything and the food options were not the best.”
Overall, according to the students, the Friends Select School’s summer trip to Italy left a lasting impact on the students who went. “Italy truly was the highlight of my whole summer,” Paloma said.
