Several University of Wisconsin students are finding alternative ways to spend their spring breaks.

South Africa

Who would have thought a summer job at a day camp could land you a two-week trip to South Africa for spring break?

Already having missed a week of classes, UW senior Katy Resop and sophomore John Fink are now halfway through their escapade in Rustenburg, South Africa, teaching locals how to run day camp.

?I feel like it?s a dream come true,? Resop said. ?This is my first time going overseas at all, so I am incredibly excited.?

Resop and Fink are both summer employees at Wisconsin day camps through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which partners with a diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa.

?Our camp has been raising money for this camp in South Africa and helping build it,? Fink said. ?It also doubles as an HIV/AIDS relief center. During the summer here, the diocese in South Africa has always sent over a couple of counselors that we?ve gotten to know every year.?

In addition to reconnecting with past counselors, Fink, Resop and 12 fellow camp leaders from Wisconsin will be training college-age South Africans on how to run a faith-based day camp, while leading a camp themselves simultaneously.

?I think I?m most interested in hearing about their faith during apartheid because it was such a trying time for them,? Fink said. ?I really want to hear their experience and share some of my experiences as well. They?re very spiritual people.?

Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

With only a handful of belongings and a well thought-out itinerary, UW fifth-year senior Beau Stafford and his friend will backpack through Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua for 14 days this break.

Although neither traveler has any experience in the countries they plan to visit or has ever backpacked before, their inexperience, Stafford said, will not be a problem.

?I?ve just always wanted to do it, and decided there’s not a better time than the present,? Stafford said. ?It’s going to be the blind leading the blind. It’s going to be fun.?

The duo plans to fly into Guatemala City and spend some time exploring the town of Antigua and Lake Atitlan before heading to Honduras for four days of scuba lessons. With few set plans for lodging, the friends hope to find cheap hostels and cabanas along their way.

?We?re going to the three cheapest places in Central America, so I don’t think it’s going to be that bad,? Stafford said. ?I think our biggest expense is really going to be transportation.?

Although they?ll be on foot when exploring towns and crossing borders, the friends plan to take ?chicken buses? ? festively decorated school buses ? during their long-distance treks.

?We?re going to try to get a little more of a feel for the culture and what the normal people go through,? Stafford said. ?We?ll probably meet some interesting people ? and animals.?

Brunswick, Ga.

While most students will be cuddled in beds somewhere, five UW students will be sleeping in tree houses this break at an eco-friendly hostel in Brunswick, Georgia.

As an international youth hostel for 32 years, The Hostel in the Forest is world-renowned for its creative sleeping arrangements, which include geodesic domes and tree houses built entirely by volunteers, according to its website.

?It?s pretty popular, so we had to get in there and reserve pretty quickly,? said UW senior Joel Wood, who will be visiting the hostel for the first time this break.

For only $20 a night, Wood and his friends will not only get to stay in hand-built tree houses, but the students will also enjoy homemade organic meals from the hostel?s gardens prepared by staff.

?I remember my freshman year I went down to Panama City Beach and stayed in a condo and did that kind of MTV thing that was like the stereotypical college break,? Wood said. ?I remember paying like $500 a week just to stay in the condo, so it?s going to be a lot less expensive.?

The group of friends traveling together, which includes five UW students and three University of Minnesota students, estimates their biggest expense for the 8-day trip will be gas for the approximately 18-hour drive. Yet, aside from the bargain price, the students also look forward to the composting toilets, outdoor shower facilities and special soap guests are required to use that drains into the forest.

?I?m not especially environmentally friendly,? UW junior Dallas White said. ?I don?t really compost, or I?m not a vegetarian or anything, but just being there for a few days is going to be cool.?

Memphis, Tenn.

Perhaps one of the cheapest ways to get out of town this spring break is through the Wisconsin Union Directorate?s Alternative Breaks Program, which offers service trips throughout the U.S. ranging from only $150 to $330.

Among this year?s most popular locations are Boston, New Orleans, Memphis and San Juan, Texas, according to Emily Villhauer, adviser of the WUD Alt Breaks Committee.

UW sophomore Erica Wagner is looking forward to volunteering for the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center in Memphis, Tenn., where she will have the chance to ?interact with people who live in Memphis who are still suffering from the lack of civil rights,? Villhauer said.

?It?s an opportunity for students to learn about the Civil Rights Movement from before, but also have a chance to work on some of those issues where it stands now,? Villhauer said.

The group of 10 students will be helping with voter registration, providing meals for the homeless and planting a communal garden with local children, among other activities.

?It?s a good way to meet new people, go on a fun road trip with college students and do good at the same time, so I think it?s a great way to spend time off of school,? Wagner said.

This spring break, 120 UW students will be volunteering on the 12 trips through the Alternative Breaks Program.

?I think it?s kind of a safe way to push students out of their comfort zone and learn about issues that are affecting people all over the country,? Villhauer said. ?And, hopefully, they?ll continue their service in Madison once they get back from the trip.?

Costa Rica

Whitewater rafting. Scuba diving. Canopy tours through the rainforest.

UW seniors Kiley Djupstrom and Jordan Emerson are ready for adventure this spring break as they prepare to backpack for the first time through Costa Rica.

?We wanted someplace warm, but not something that you?re just laying on the beach or something resort-y,? Djupstrom said, explaining what they were looking for in a spring break trip. ?We wanted to be active and have adventures.?

However, while adventures were high on the to-do list for Djupstrom, Emerson and their friend, spending a lot of money was not. Hence, the plan to backpack was born.

After flying into San Jose, the trio plans to experience about as much as they can of Costa Rica in the 10 days before their departure. Yet that’s about all they have planned.

?We have an itinerary, but it’ll be kind of just winging it,? Djupstrom said with a laugh, adding that most of their tentative schedule came from research on the Internet.

Emerson, who traveled to Costa Rica once before a few years ago, said he’s most looking forward to the zip line canopy tour through the rain forest.

?It feels like you?re in the clouds, because you?re so high up in the mountains,? Emerson said. ?You actually get wet. It?s so awesome.?

The trio also hopes to visit volcanoes, do some snorkeling and much, much more.

?We want to rent surfboards and rent bikes. We just want to see a lot,? Djupstrom said.

Greece

History and culture are what three UW students will encounter this spring break as they take a cruise through the waters of Greece.

For the bargain price of less than $300 per person, the students will see sites both ancient and modern, including the 3,600-year-old palace at Mycenae, the Parthenon, the ancient Olympic stadium at Olympia and the supposed home of Agamemnon, a heroic warrior of Homer’s ?Iliad.?

?We’ve never been to Greece before, so we?re really excited,? said Blenda Chiu, who graduated from UW in December. ?You hear all the history about these different places, so to see it will be really amazing.?

The seven-day cruise embarks from Athens and heads west to Kiato before spending a day at Ithaca, the island home of Odysseus. From there, the students will head back east to visit Patras, Itea and Aegina before returning to Athens on the final day.

At each of the stops the students will have the choice of participating in a variety of mini-excursions and tours of the cities for a minimal extra cost. Chiu and her friends also said they plan to stay an extra night in Athens after the cruise ends.

According to UW senior Becky Peterson, the relaxing and educational cruise will be different from the typical college spring break trip.

?It?s not just all about being drunk,? Peterson said. ?There’s some culture involved in it, too.?