What do you like to do while on a vacation? Is it the feeling of warm grains of sand flooding your feet with each step you take on the shore of a seemingly endless beach? Maybe it’s the sounds of traffic and busy clatter as you explore a foreign city. How about a calming fire that graces your body with its warmth in a cabin on the side of a snowy mountain? Or perhaps it is something else entirely.

This year’s winter break starts on Dec. 22 and ends on Jan. 5. Everyone needs some kind of hiatus in their life whether it’s from school, work or anything else. Winter break is one of the few times in the year a student has time to relax. Normally during this time, students tend to celebrate the holidays, go on vacations or just chill out.

The daily conversations students had at school are suddenly replaced by Instagram posts detailing a couple of snapshots of a vacation or dinner or get-together, but It seems as though when winter break begins students disappear. So where are they going? What are they doing? Who are they going with?

Arnav Vedavyas

Freshman Arnav Vedavyas is spending his break by going to Disney World. Vedavyas is going to Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom.  His parents surprised him one day with the exciting news.

“[I was like] oh let’s go,” Vedavyas said. “I was pretty stoked because I was also going to go with my cousin.”

Vedavyas is not staying in Florida the entire time as he will be at home during the beginning of the break. 

“[I am going to] celebrate Christmas, have friends and family over, go over to my friend’s house.”

Jonathan Cheng

Sophomore Jonathan Cheng is traveling with his family to Cancun. Cancun is a popular tourist destination in Mexico. It is known for its luxurious beaches and comforting climate.

“Cancun is a fun place to go for winter break. It’s a nice alternative,” Cheng said. “It’s a very fun place to spend time and to try something new and go swimming and stuff.”

Although Cancun sounds like a beautiful place to go it still has its negatives. Even though the city is targeted towards tourists the language barrier still exists. The temperature can also rise to upwards of 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Sometimes the weather may be too hot,” Cheng said. “So that’s pretty bad. Also if you don’t know where you’re going or where you are it’s kind of hard to communicate with others if you don’t know Spanish.”

Raymon Xu

Raymon Xu is a junior who is going to visit his older sister in New York City. He hasn’t seen his sister in a few years because she got married and COVID-19 happened.

“She wants me to visit New York City because she wants me to see her year-old child,” Xu said.

New York is one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world because of the large number of attractions it holds and its cultural diversity. It has something for almost everyone.

Xu is going to be in New York to celebrate Christmas and spend time with his sister and her family. He is also going to meet his baby niece for the first time.

“I’m looking forward to it actually because we already have some stuff planned out like going to the Intrepid Museum,” Xu said.

Winter Break Escape

No matter where you are going whether it be far away or just staying home you have the time to relax as a fresh start to a new year begins. After months of hard and vigorous work, you get a well-earned break. There is no need to overextend yourself throughout this break, just do what you love.

“The fact that I can chill back, relax, not worry too much about finals,” Xu said. “I mean the typical stuff.”